Synergetic Effects of Hierarchical Porosity, Chemical, Acidic, and Hydrothermal Modification of the NaY Zeolite and Its Simultaneous Use in the Technology of the Fluid Catalytic Cracking (FCC)

Currently, Fluid Catalytic Cracking (FCC) is one of the largest and most important conversion technologies in the oil refinery industry. In this regard, cracking activity and selectivity are influenced by some factors like acid activation, surface area, and pore structure of Ultra-Stable Y (USY) zeolites. To achieve this goal, different chemical and hydrothermal treatments of zeolite were investigated to stabilize the catalyst and increase the conversion for the process of catalytic cracking. This work focused on the properties and expected behavior of two types of modified Y zeolite both of which are based on NaY zeolite. To improve the stability of zeolites and the selectivity of the catalyst, they were treated with different techniques such as chemical (adding Rare Earth Elements (REE) or boric acid), acidic (hexafluorosilicic acid), and hydrothermal techniques. Finally, they were used simultaneously in the formulation of the FCC to improve its performance which undoubtedly has a tremendous impact on FCC products as a major process in conversion. The characterization of the modified zeolites and the final product of the FCC catalyst was performed by X-Ray Fluorescence (XRF) spectrometry, X-Ray Diffraction (XRD) spectrometry, N2-porosimetry, Inductively Coupled Plasma-Optical Emission Spectrometry (ICP-OES), Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM), and Temperature Programmed Desorption (TPD). Accordingly, XRF showed a high silicate content level in synthesized zeolites, XRD indicates the appropriate Si/Al ratio value in the final product, N2-porosimetry revealed the formation of porous zeolite crystal in their sodalite cage, and the presence of micro-meso structure of USY samples with higher microporosity. ICP-OES was used to determine the percentage of boron. The obtained FCC catalyst was evaluated in a Micro-Activity Testing (MAT) unit, also Carbon-Hydrogen-Nitrogen (CHN) analysis, Thermo Gravimetric Analysis (TGA) were done to measure the coke content of spent FCC to prove the better performance of the FCC catalyst.