SYNTHESIS OF HYDROCARBON FUELS VIA SELECTIVE REFORMING OF KEROSENE OVER VARIOUS NI/ZEOLITE CATALYSTS

Abstract

In this study, the reforming of kerosene was performed in a fixed-bed reactor in order to investigate the synthesis of hydrocarbon fuels. For this purpose, five Ni-based catalysts supported on Y, Mordenite, ZSM-5, Beta, and Ferririte zeolites were prepared by deposition-precipitation method. Four main composition groups of hydrocarbons including normal paraffins, isoparaffins, cycloparaffins, and aromatics were analyzed in feed and liquid products and the effects of key parameters of the catalysts namely acidity, diameter of pores in channels, and surface area on the progress of the reforming process were surveyed. According to the analysis results, Y zeolite with higher acidity, larger pore diameter, and more surface area led to produce the most aromatic contents (57.60%) in the products. Beta increased both cycloparaffins (34.91%) and isoparaffins (34.07%) in the product. Mordenite and Ferririte effectively increased the formation of isoparaffins by 38.22% and 38.85% respectively. Meanwhile, ZSM-5 with moderate acidity, surface area, and pore size increased the cycloparaffin contents of the product (46.28%). These results highlighted the potential of each zeolite to produce a valuable product via reforming process, which meets the requirement of standard hydrocarbon fuels. Ultimately, the pathway to reforming process over each prepared catalyst was proposed.