Clay catalysts fluidized catalytic cracking

It should be noted that, at this point, it is unlikely that pillared clays will replace zeolites for fluidized catalytic cracking, the reason being the hydrothermal instability of the clays at the conditions typically used in a modem riser cracker. Nevertheless, there is ongoing interest in clays and pillared clays as shape-selective catalysts for other, more specific reactions or separations. 

Catalytic cracking is a process that is currently performed exclusively over fluidized catalyst beds. The fluid catalytic cracking (FCC) process was introduced in 1942 and at that time replaced the conventional moving bed processes. These early processes were based on acid-treated clays as acidic catalysts. The replacement of the amorphous aluminosilicate catalysts by Faujasite-type zeolites in the early-1960s is regarded as a major improvement in FCC performance. The new acidic catalysts had a remarkable activity and produced substantially higher yields than the old ones. 

Prior to 1938, gasoline was obtained from thermal-cracking plants then the Houdry fixed-bed catalytic cracking process led to the development of a fluidized-bed process by Standard Oil for the catalytic production of motor fuels (4-8). Acid-treated clays of the montmorilIonite type were the first fluid-cracking catalysts widely employed by the industry. However, the ever greater demand for aviation fuels during the 1939-1945 period prompted the search for more active and selective catalysts. Research on novel catalyst... 

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