Production of aromatic compounds in the heavy naphtha and light cycle oil ranges: catalytic cracking of aromatics and C10 naphthenic-aromatics

CATEGORY: AROMATICS 
Production of aromatic compounds in the heavy naphtha and light cycle oil ranges: catalytic cracking of aromatics and C10 naphthenic-aromatics

Type	Journal Article
Author	Richard Pujro
Author	Marisa Falco
URL	http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/jctb.4570/abstract
Pages	n/a-n/a
Publication	Journal of Chemical Technology & Biotechnology
Date	2014
Abstract	BACKGROUND Reports a study of the conversions of bicyclic compounds, both a naphthenic-aromatic compound (tetralin) and an aromatic compound (naphthalene), as model reactants representative of the heavy gasoline and light cycle oil (LCO) cuts in fluid catalytic cracking (FCC), to understand the formation of C10–C20 aromatic compounds in gasoline and middle distillates cuts, in view of their impact on the properties of the cuts. Researchers used a commercial FCC catalyst in its fresh, hydrothermally de-aluminated and equilibrium forms, at 450 °C in a fluidized bed CREC Riser Simulator reactor in the 2–8 s reaction time range. RESULTS Products were C1–C14 hydrocarbons and coke. Based on the product distributions, researchers propose reaction networks for both reactants. The reactions considered in the networks were hydrogen transfer, cracking, ring opening and contraction, alkylation and disproportionation. CONCLUSION The load of zeolite in the catalysts and their acidities have the strongest influences on reaction selectivities. In the case of tetralin, the prevalent reaction is hydrogen transfer, which becomes more important as the catalysts are less active, the hydrocarbons with highest yields being C10 aromatics. Cracking reactions predominate in naphthalene conversion over all the catalysts, a fact which favors mono-aromatic C9− hydrocarbons. These results can help in the design of new FCC catalysts with better selectivity control.