Abstract
The relationship between 2-methylpentane cracking activity and the acid properties of H-Y (acidic Y zeolite), H-USY (acidic ultrastable Y zeolite), steamed H-USY, and (H,NH4)-USY ((H,NH4)-ultrastable Y zeolite) was investigated. The acid strength distributions of these samples were determined by microcalorimetry of NH3 adsorption, and the types of acid sites by FTIR spectroscopy. It was found that even for an H-Y sample of a high degree of crystallinity its cracking activity per unit catalyst weight was 35 times lower than that of H-USY With further steaming of H-USY, the cracking activity decreased, although the activity per strong Brønsted site remained essentially constant. Interestingly, although the strongly acidic Lewis acid sites were covered by NH3 in (H,NH4)-USY, the catalyst had the same activity as H-USY Also, the heat of NH3 adsorption on (H,NH4)-USY did not exceed 130 kJ/mol. Thus, it was concluded that strong Lewis acid sites were not active for hydrocarbon cracking, and that 2-methylpentane cracking did not require Brønsted sites with a high heat of NH3 adsorption. H-USY, with both Brønsted and Lewis sites, had a heterogeneous acid strength distribution, whereas zeolites containing only Brønsted sites had a homogeneous acid strength.
| Original language | English (US) |
|---|---|
| Article number | CA971825 |
| Pages (from-to) | 293-304 |
| Number of pages | 12 |
| Journal | Journal of Catalysis |
| Volume | 171 |
| Issue number | 1 |
| DOIs | |
| State | Published - 1997 |
Funding
Financial support from the National Science Foundation, the Engelhard Corporation, and Ashland Petroleum Company, and in-kind support from Amoco Oil Co., are gratefully acknowledged. The authors also thank Scott Babitz and Alex Chu-Kung for their assistance in performing some of the catalytic runs, and Dr. G. J. Ray of Amoco for obtaining and interpreting the NMR data.
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Catalysis
- Physical and Theoretical Chemistry