A Designed Fluid Cracking Catalyst with Vanadium Tolerance

A fluid cracking catalyst with two functions, strong acid zeolitic cracking and vanadium passivation, was designed. Vanadium passivation is important for maintaining cracking catalyst performance when processing heavy petroleum feedstocks. The catalyst was made by growing zeolite Y on the external and internal surface of microspheres containing the vanadium trap forsterite. Surface spectroscopy and catalytic results were used to demonstrate that the catalyst was synthesized as designed and that both the cracking function and vanadium trapping function were preserved.