TEHRAN (INIC)- Researchers at University of Tehran, Iran managed to synthesize a nanozeolite which can be used to improve the efficiency in converting heavy diesel to lighter and more valuable products, like gasoline and olefins.

Fluid Catalytic Cracking (FCC) is commonly used to convert heavy diesel to lighter oil cuts, more valuable products, such as gasoline, olefins, etc.

The Catalyst used in FCC is usually consisted of a type of zeolite (Y-zeolite in most cases), silica matrix, alumina or silica alumina, filler and binder. It is stated that modifications in the zeolite or matrix properties will greatly influence the production efficiency.

"The research concerns modification of the dominant component of FCC catalyst with the aim of eliminating its available shortcomings," Amin Bazyari, a member of the research team, told the news service of INIC.

In the research work, the active components of FCC catalyst including NaY zeolite particles with particle sizes of less than 500 nanometers were synthesized and ammonium exchanged. Also, temperature-programmed steaming method was applied to obtain super stable USY zeolites.

"Thanks to its larger-size pores compared to those of Y zeolite, USY zeolite facilitates the cracking of heavy feeds more and its coke formation is observed to be lower. As a result, USY catalyst can be applied in the production of a gasoline that features higher octane number, lower coke production, and greater thermal stability," Bazyari reiterated.

The proposed nanocatalyst can be used in catalytic cracking, hyrdocracking and alkylation units of oil industry.

For more details on this research work please consult Fuel Processing Technology, volume 90, pages 1226 to 1233, 2009.