Alumina catalysts petroleum residues

The studies of n-heptane and methylcyclopentane conversion provide insight into the advantages of platinum-iridium and platinum-rhenium catalysts over catalysts containing only one of the transition metal components, that is, platinum, iridium, or rhenium. If, for example, we consider an iridium-alumina catalyst for the reforming of a petroleum naphtha fraction, we find that it produces a substantially higher octane number reformate than a platinum on alumina catalyst under normal reforming conditions. The iridium-alumina catalyst will also exhibit a lower rate of formation of carbonaceous residues on the surface, with the result that the maintenance of activity with time will be much superior to that of a platinum-alumina catalyst. 

Residual fuel oils and heavy marine fuels are composed of high-boiling-petroleum fractions, gas oils and cracked components. Residual and clarified oil streams from the FCC process can contain degraded alumina/silica catalyst fines. These 20- to 70-micron-diameter fines are known to contribute to a variety of problems in fuel injection and combustion systems. In marine engines, excessive injector pump wear, piston ring wear, and cylinder wall wear can all be due to the abrasive action of catalyst fines on these fuel system parts. 

Reactor studies were done in the Catalyst Laboratory at the R D Center of Phillips Petroleum Company in Bartlesville, Oklahoma. More detailed descriptions of the hydroprocessing reactor system and experimental program are given elsewhere (ref, 14,15). The catalyst is laboratory-impregnated Ni-Mo on a commercial 0.156 cm diameter alumina extrudate support provided by Ketjen. The feeds are partially hydrotreated residua from Hondo, Oriente, and Cano Limon crude oils. Asphaltenes were precipitated with a 40 to 1 ratio of n-pentane to oil. Residual oil and hydrogen are pumped upflow through a thermal zone... 

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