CRADA Final Report: Optimized Catalysts for the Cracking of Heavier Petroleum Feedstocks

Catalysts lower the activation energy required for chemical reactions to proceed and are widely used in petroleum refining and chemical manufacturing. The useful lifetime and, thus, the value of an industrial catalyst are limited by a process known as deactivation in which the efficiency of the catalyst declines over time. Understanding this deactivation process is essential for developing new catalysts with longer useful lifetimes. In this project a new surface science tool, ultraviolet (UV) Raman spectroscopy, was used to identify chemical species on the surfaces of catalysts in-situ under actual reaction conditions. In collaboration with Catalytica this tool was applied to study deactivation in a series of important industrial catalysts. In the specific case of "reforming" catalysts are used to dehydrogenate and cyclize n-hexane and n-heptane to form benzene and toluene for the production of high octane gasoline, the buildup and polymerization of carbonaceous reaction byproducts on the surface of the catalyst was studied in-situ by this new method. The information on catalyst reaction and deactivation mechanisms has been found to be useful to the industrial partner in improving their catalysts. These improvements could have a major impact on the efficiency of petroleum refining and gasoline production. In addition, the new surface science tools developed by this project will have general applicability to the study of catalysis and to the field of surface science in general.