Impact of catalyst metal acid balance in n-hexadecane hydroisomerization and hydrocracking

The reaction pathways and kinetics of n-hexadecane hydroisomerization and hydrocracking were determined in the presence of each of three platinum-containing dual-function catalysts: (a) Pt on a proprietary zeolite (Pt/Z), (b) Pt on silica-alumina (Pt/Si-Al), and (c) Pt on MCM-41 (Pt/MCM-41). The reaction networks were used to interpret differences in isomerization selectivity. The low isomerization selectivity observed in the presence of Pt/Si-Al was shown to be a consequence of changes in both relative isomerization/cracking rates and reaction pathways. Using the classical bifunctional reaction scheme, the changes in pathway were hypothesized to be consistent with changes in the relative concentrations of metal and acid sites (i.e., the metal-acid balance). On the basis of a recently proposed model of dual-function catalysis, the different observed pathways were subsequently shown to be those expected in two limiting case of the metal-acid balance. The simplified quantitative picture given here provides a preliminary basis for relating catalyst preparation variables to catalyst performance for dual-function catalysts.