Effects of Light Olefins Formation during Catalytic Pyrolysis of n-Heptane

The influence of zeolite structure and process parameters (including reaction temperature and catalyst/oil ratio) on rules for formation of ethylene and propylene in the course of catalytic pyrolysis of n-heptane was studied in a small-scale fixed fluid catalytic cracking unit. Test results have revealed that compared to the USY zeolite and Beta zeolite, the catalytic pyrolysis of n-heptane in the presence of the ZRP zeolite catalyst can result in higher yield and selectivity of ethylene and propylene, while a higher reaction temperature and a higher catalyst/oil ratio can promote the formation of ethylene and propylene during catalytic pyrolysis of n-heptane. The ethylene formation reaction is more sensitive to the changes in reaction temperature, whereas the changes in catalyst/oil ratio are more influential to the propylene formation reaction. This paper has made a preliminary exploration into the different reaction pathways for formation of ethylene and propylene on zeolites with different structures.