Performance of composite catalysts in palm oil cracking for the production of liquid fuels and chemicals

A composite material containing zeolite ZSM-5 and mesoporous molecular sieve was prepared by coating ZSM-5 crystals with a layer of mesoporous molecular sieve using cetyltrimethylammonium chloride as template. The ratio of mesophase was varied from 10 to 40 wt.% and the alumina content in the mesophase was varied from 0 to 15 wt.%. The synthesized composite materials were characterized using nitrogen adsorption, X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and acidity. The surface area was found to vary in the range of 350–500 m2/g when ZSM-5 coated with siliceous mesophase and varied from 140 to 350 m2/g when aluminosilicate coating was used. The composite materials were used as catalysts in the palm oil cracking process and their performance was compared with those obtained from HZSM-5 and MCM-41 materials. Palm oil conversion of 80–100 wt.% and yield of gasoline fraction of 38–47 wt.% were obtained from the composite catalysts. The catalysts were selective towards the formation of aromatics in the organic liquid product (OLP).