Fluid Catalyst Process. Catalytic Cracking of Petroleum

Fluid catalytic cracking: recent developments on the grand old lady of zeolite catalysis

“…In about a year, the system was developed to commercial stage, and mid-1942, the first commercial FCC unit (PCLA-1) was started up. 9 , 10 This system was based on an up-flow reactor and regenerator 11 and used a clay-based catalyst. 9 It was based on work of Lewis and Gilliland, 12 working with Standard Oil Company of New Jersey, who suggested that a low velocity gas flow through a powder might “lift” it enough to cause it to flow in a manner similar to a liquid.…”

“…A similar effect is seen for the gasoline over LPG selectivity, since the optimum in the series pathway network is shifted to higher molecular weight. The post-synthesis treatment in this technology appears to amount to a re-crystallization of the zeolite in alkali (pH [9][10][11] in the presence of cetyl-trimethylammonium-bromide (CTAB) at 150 1C. The starting zeolite in the original process already has a quite high silica-to-alumina ratio of about 30, lower SAR zeolites apparently need an acid pretreatment before they are suitable for post-treatment.…”

Simplified laboratory apparatus for vapor phase catalytic studies

“…Catalysis of chemical reactions in the vapor phase is a transformation lending itself readily to continuous operation. Illustrations are numerous, especially in petroleum chemistry where catalytic cracking (1,8,15), polymerization (10,11), alkylation (16,19,22), dehydrogenation (5,6), and cyclization (7,9), are now practiced widely. Also common are many catalytic processes for oxidation-as naphthalene to phthalic anhydride (4, 20), and alcohols or aldehydes to acids (13,14), hydrogenation-as the now familiar ammonia synthesis (17), and hydrocarbon (2,3), and methanol syntheses (18,23) from hydrogen and carbon monoxide, and dehydrations-as in the conversion of alcohols to olefins (12).…”

One-step conversion of crude oil to light olefins using a multi-zone reactor

“…Fluid catalytic cracking (FCC) is the primary conversion unit in most petroleum refineries. 1 The FCC technology consists of a pipe coil reactor (usually a riser), where the cracking reaction takes place, and a regenerator where the catalyst is continuously regenerated by combustion. Since the first commercial unit in 1942, 2 FCC processes have produced most of the consumed gasoline in the world.…”