Investigation of deep catalytic cracking of various model compounds of different classes of light hydrocarbons on a mesoporous catalyst based on ZSM-5 zeolite

The catalytic cracking performance of light hydrocarbon model compounds (1-hexene, n-octane, i-octane, ethylcyclohexane and ethylbenzene) over a mesoporous catalyst based on ZSM-5 zeolite was analyzed and compared using a microscale apparatus with a fixed-bed reactor. The effects of reaction temperature and weight hourly space velocity (WHSV) on feed conversion and the yields of ethene and propene were investigated. The results showed that with increased reaction temperature, the conversion of model compounds increased monotonically, and that of 1-hexene was close to 100% above 660°C; the yield of ethene plus propene of n-octane, i-octane and ethylcyclohexane increased continuously, while that of 1-hexene and ethylbenzene passed through maximum. With increased WHSV, the yield of ethene plus propene of ethylbenzene increased continuously, and that of the other model compounds decreased continuously. Through comprehensive analysis of the data, it is indicated that 1-hexene exhibited the highest cracking performance, followed by n-octane and ethylcyclohexane, whereas i-octane and ethylbenzene exhibited the lowest.