Upgrading of Light Cycle Oil to High-Octane Gasoline through Selective Hydrocracking over Non-Noble Metal Bifunctional Catalysts

Abstract

Three non-noble metal bifunctional catalysts (Ni–W/Hβ–Al2O3, Ni–W/HY–Al2O3, and Ni–Mo/HY–Al2O3) were prepared and applied to the selective hydrocracking of light cycle oil (LCO) into high-octane gasoline. The structures of catalysts were characterized by various techniques, and the catalytic performances were tested at 400 °C, 8.0 MPa, and a liquid hourly space velocity of 0.8 h–1 using a once-through mode at a pilot-scale reactor. Among the three catalysts, Ni–Mo/HY–Al2O3 showed the highest yield of gasoline (43.4 wt % in which aromatics accounted for 31.6%) and highest research octane number (RON, around 85), which were mainly due to high total acidity, high surface area, and homogeneous distribution of the active phase on the catalyst. In a long-term test (3200 h), with a partial recycle mode at the pilot reactor, Ni–Mo/HY–Al2O3 exhibited a high and stable gasoline yield (about 53 wt %) with a RON of 92–95, indicating its high performance for the selective hydrocracking of LCO. This catalyst was eventually commercialized in a refinery, which gave rise to a stable gasoline yield of about 40 wt % with a RON of 91 during 250 days on stream. Moreover, the chemical and structural properties of the used catalyst were preserved.

Selective Hydrocracking Polyaromatics into Light Aromatics: the Separation of Hydrogenation Center and Cracking Center

“…The catalytic activities of the prepared Ni/B 0.4 @CoMo/A 0.6 catalyst and reported NiW/HB-Al 2 O 3 and NiMo/HY-Al 2 O 3 catalysts with the same contents of active metals were evaluated under the same conditions of T = 400 °C, P = 6 MPa, and H 2 /Oil = 200. 42 The evaluation results are concluded in Figure 9. It shows that the Ni/B 0.4 @CoMo/A 0.6 catalyst presented the highest conversion of naphthalene and yield of < C10 aromatics.…”

Selective hydrocracking of light cycle oil into high-octane gasoline over bi-functional catalysts

“…According to the China National VI standards for diesel automotive diesel, the sulfur and nitrogen in diesel must be less than 10 ppm, and the content of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in diesel must be less than 7% [1]. Therefore, light cycle oil (LCO) is considered as a low-quality and prohibitive component for diesel production due to its high contents of aromatic (75%-90%), sulfur (1.5%-2.0%) and low cetane index (15)(16)(17)(18)(19)(20)(21)(22)(23)(24)(25) [2,3]. Due to the strict environmental limitations, LCO has to be applied as plant fuel or a blending component in heavy fuel oil for viscosity adjustment [4].…”

“…The result showed that the Ni 2 P/Beta exhibited the best activity with a naphthalene conversion of 99%, and a BTX yield of 94.4% [18]. Peng [19]. Youngseok et al studied the LCO catalytic performances on the types of Ni-W, Ni-Mo and Co-Mo hydrotreating catalysts for producing BTXrich light aromatics.…”

High Metal–Acid Balance and Selective Hydrogenation Activity Catalysts for Hydrocracking of 1-Methylnaphthalene to Benzene, Toluene, and Xylene

“…Light cycle oil, mainly consisting of bicyclic aromatic hydrocarbons and largely produced by fluid catalytic cracking, is in oversupply in recent years, , while benzene (B), toluene (T), and xylene (X)valuable monocyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, serving as the basic chemical intermediates, are insufficient to meet the increasing demand . Thus, economical profit, in addition to stringent environment regulation, impels refineries to convert the bicyclic aromatics into monocyclic aromatic hydrocarbon-BTX …”