Kinetic and catalytic performance of a BI‐porous composite material in catalytic cracking and isomerisation reactions

Abstract

Catalytic behaviour of pure zeolite ZSM‐5 and a bi‐porous composite material (BCM) were investigated in transformation of m‐xylene, while zeolite HY and the bi‐porous composite were used in the cracking of 1,3,5‐triisopropylbenzene (TIPB). The micro/mesoporous material was used to understand the effect of the presence of mesopores on these reactions. Various characterisation techniques, that is, XRD, SEM, TGA, FT‐IR and nitrogen sorption measurements were applied for complete characterisation of the catalysts. Catalytic tests using CREC riser simulator showed that the micro/mesoporous composite catalyst exhibited higher catalytic activity as compared with the conventional microporous ZSM‐5 and HY zeolite for transformation of m‐xylene and for the catalytic cracking of TIPB, respectively. The outstanding catalytic reactivity of m‐xylene and TIPB molecules were mainly attributed to the easier access of active sites provided by the mesopores. Apparent activation energies for the disappearance of m‐xylene and TIPB over all catalysts were found to decrease in the order: EBCM > EZSM‐5 and EBCM > EHY, respectively. © 2012 Canadian Society for Chemical Engineering