The role of temperature in 1,3-di-iso-propyl-benzene catalytic reactions using FCC catalysts

The present study reports the catalytic reactions of a gasoline range aromatic compound 1,3-di-iso-propyl-benzene (1,3-DIPB). Experiments are performed in a novel CREC Riser Simulator, a catalytic reactor that mimics the operating conditions of large-scale FCC units. Reaction testing involved different reaction times and temperatures, using USY-zeolites of different crystal sizes (0.4 μm and 0.9 μm). It is suggested that 1,3-DIPB dealkylates in two consecutive steps. 1,3-DIPB catalytic dealkylation is found to increase with reaction time, however; it does not appear to be affected by rising temperature. The main reaction products of 1,3-DIPB conversion (cumene, benzene, and propene) are shown to be a prime function of temperature. Time on stream (TOS) decay model is employed to model the experimental data. The present study suggests that due to the larger activation energy for cumene dealkylation compared to 1,3-DIPB dealkylation, the secondary cumene dealkylation reaction suppresses the primary 1,3-DIPB dealkylation reaction as temperature increases.