Highly selective zeolite based catalysts for naphtha catalytic cracking to ethylene and propylene

SABIC, in collaboration with KFUPM (Centre for Refining and Petrochemical), has developed several novel zeolite based catalysts that gave high yield of propylene and excellent stability. The novelty of these zeolites comes from the generation of hierarchical pore structures and controlling the extent of their formation as well as controlling the density of strong acid sites. The hierarchical structure of the catalysts provides faster mass transfer and higher accessibility to the active sites and prevents secondary reactions such as hydrogen transfer that consume olefins. The novelty of these zeolites is demonstrated in laboratory-scale with substantial increase in the yield of ethylene and propylene as compared to conventional pristine zeolites. This is an abstract of a paper presented at the Proceedings 26th Saudi Japan Annual Symposium Technology in Petroleum Refining & Petrochemicals (KFUPM Dhahran, Saudi Arabia 11/7-8/2016).