Enhancing Hydrocracking Catalyst Performance and Lifetime through Surfactant-Templated Mesoporosity in Pt/HUSY Zeolites

TL;DR

A new method to create better hydrocracking catalysts by adding mesopores using surfactants improves performance and durability.

Contribution

The study introduces surfactant-templated mesoporosity in Pt/HUSY zeolites to enhance hydrocracking efficiency and catalyst stability.

Findings

Pt/HUSY catalysts with surfactant-templated mesoporosity showed higher hexadecane cracking activity and selectivity.

Surfactant-treated catalysts achieved similar product distributions at lower temperatures than conventional catalysts.

Mesoporosity reduced coke accumulation and improved catalyst stability over time.

Abstract

The development of catalysts capable of overcoming mass
transport
limitations remains a crucial challenge in hydrocracking processes,
particularly for bulky linear hydrocarbons, such as long-chain paraffins.
In this study, we report the synthesis of hierarchical Pt/HUSY catalysts
via a surfactant-templating strategy that introduces highly interconnected
intracrystalline mesoporosity while preserving most of the zeolite’s
crystallinity and acidity, significantly enhancing molecular diffusion,
facilitating better access to acid sites, and alleviating the diffusion
limitations typically associated with purely microporous zeolites.
Catalytic testing revealed a marked increase in hexadecane cracking
activity, especially in catalysts with longer surfactant treatment
times (Pt/CBV780_20h and Pt/CBV720_41h), which exhibited superior
conversion rates and selectivities toward lighter hydrocarbons. Notably,
the surfactant-templated catalysts achieved similar product distributions
at lower temperatures than those of their parent materials. Additionally,
our study demonstrates the importance of well-connected intracrystalline
mesoporosity in reducing catalyst deactivation by preventing coke
accumulation, particularly in high-aluminum Pt/CBV720 catalysts, which
showed higher stability over time despite greater coke deposition.
These findings highlight the effectiveness of surfactant-templated
mesoporosity as a powerful strategy to enhance both the performance
and lifetime of zeolite-based catalysts for industrial hydrocarbon
conversion processes.

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