A facile synthesis of hierarchical Nanosized zeolite Beta and its application in direct crude oil hydrocracking

Abstract

This study focuses on the synthesis of hierarchical nano-sized beta zeolites that exhibit enhanced catalytic properties through zeolite particle size reduction (to <80 nm) and the introduction of mesopores inside and between particles to improve diffusion of large molecules. The zeolites were produced by desilication and with template-including nano-sized beta as starting material. The samples were characterized by BET, XRD, XRF, solid-state NMR, TG-DTA, and NH₃-TPD. Our method uses a shortened synthesis process to yield zeolites with higher surface area, pore volume (>1.0 ml/g), and stronger acidity that those developed by other methods. The zeolite reaction performances were evaluated in crude oil hydrocracking under commercial hydrocracker operating conditions in a pilot plant unit. The testing results showed that the catalyst including the hierarchical nanosized zeolite beta had much higher heavy oil conversion activity and naphtha selectivity.