Synthesis of RE Y zeolite for formulation of FCC catalyst and the catalytic performance in cracking of n-hexadecane

This study presents the synthesis of rare earth-doped Y (RE Y) zeolite, its application in formulation of a fluid catalytic cracking (FCC) catalyst and the catalytic performance of the catalyst in cracking of n-hexadecane. Zeolite NaY was synthesized and transformed to RE Y zeolite. The FCC catalyst was formulated using the as-synthesized RE Y zeolite anchored on a support matrix made of activated alumina, metakaolin and silica sol. The as-prepared catalyst was characterized using X-ray diffraction, Brunauer–Emmett–Teller texture analysis, transmission electron microscopy and a pyridine probe acidity test using Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. The crystallinity values of the as-synthesized NaY zeolite and the formulated FCC catalyst were 90 and 39 %, respectively. The specific surface area, pore volume and pore diameter of the as-prepared catalyst were 280.7 m²/g, 0.0963 cm³/g and 13.72 Å, respectively. The crystal size was 200 nm, and the catalyst’s Lewis and Brønsted acidic site concentrations were 340.03 and 356.29 µmol/g, respectively. The catalytic performance of the catalyst at reaction temperatures of 400, 500 and 550 °C were 33.8, 55.2 and 63.7 %, respectively. The product yields of gasoline, liquefied petroleum gas and dry gas at the reaction temperature of 500 °C were 34.6, 17.6 and 2.4 wt%, respectively. The run octane number of the gasoline obtained at 500 °C was 83.9.