Catalysts for Oil & Gas

Catalysts are widely used in the oil and gas industry, such as alkylation, catalytic cracking, naphtha reforming and steam reforming. Alfa Chemistry Catalysts can ensure a reliable supply of catalysts for the oil and gas industry.

FCC Catalyst

• Compared with the non-catalytic route, the use of a catalytic cracker (such as fluidized catalytic cracking (FCC)) can better control product selectivity.
• FCC catalysts have the largest market share in global refining catalysts. Among them, ultra-stable faujasite Y (USY) is still the mainstay of industrial FCC catalysis. New zeotypes, such as ITQ-21 and ITQ-33, are designed to provide additional accessibility without compromising stability.

Figure 1. Views and dimensions of the largest channels of different zeolites [1-2]

Hydrocracking Catalyst

• The hydrocracking process can convert low-value petroleum feedstocks into high-value transportation products and petrochemical feedstocks. Hydrocracking catalysts have two basic functions: hydrogenation and cracking, and their changes can lead to significant differences in product properties. Generally speaking, the strong cracking function of the catalyst will lead to products with lower boiling points; the strong hydrogenation function of the catalyst will lead to products with higher boiling points.

Figure 2. Hydrogenation capacity of metals and their combinations [3]

Heavy Oil Water Pyrolysis Catalyst

• The hydrothermal cracking process is one of the key and economic viscosity reducing technologies for successfully exploiting huge heavy oil reservoirs worldwide. The most suitable catalysts are those with strong active sites, which can actively destroy the C-C, C-S, C-O and related bonds in resins and asphaltenes, thereby increasing the concentration of saturates and lighter aromatics. Net increase.
• Transition metal minerals, salts and organic compounds show excellent activity, such as solid catalysts such as zirconia and natural zeolite. In addition, the alloys of Mo, W, C, and Ni, nano-oxides of Cu and Fe, Ni chelates, nano-Fe particles supported on SiO₂, and Cu²⁺ and Fe³⁺ complexes of toluenesulfonic acid are the main factors in the hydropyrolysis reaction. Hopeful candidate.

Figure 3. Some studies on the catalytic hydrothermal decomposition of heavy oil [4]

Natural Gas Catalyst

• Natural gas is the main raw material for the production of a variety of bulk chemicals such as ammonia, methanol and dimethyl ether (DME), as well as the main raw material for the production of increasingly important synthetic liquid fuels through Fischer-Tropsch synthesis and similar processes. Catalysts and catalytic processes are important in the production of synthesis gas from natural gas. Among them, iron-based catalysts dominate the FTO.

Figure 4. Using a carrier to stabilize iron-containing nanoparticles [5]

References

1. Corma, Avelino. (2008). "Catalytic cracking of organic compounds using zeolite ITQ-33."
2. Corma, Avelino. (2004). "Use of zeolite ITQ-21 the catalytic cracking of organic compounds."
3. John W. Ward. (1993). "Hydrocracking processes and catalysts." Fuel Processing Technology 35(1–2): 55-85.
4. Oki Muraza. (2015). "Aquathermolysis of heavy oil: A review and perspective on catalyst development." Fuel 157(1): 219-231.
5. Hirsa M. Torres Galvis. (2013). "Catalysts for Production of Lower Olefins from Synthesis Gas: A Review." ACS Catalysis 3(9): 2130–2149.