(349af) Mesoporous Zeolites Supported Catalysts for Selective Ring Opening of 1-Methylnaphthalene with Remarkably Enhanced BTEX Yield

The conventional oil refinery is typically optimized towards the production of transportation fuels, such as gasoline, diesel, and kerosene, but the last decade has seen a growing interest in converting crude oil feedstock directly into value-added chemicals and petrochemicals, including light olefins and aromatics, such as benzene, toluene, ethyl-benzene, and xylenes (BTEX). These chemicals are attractive due to global increase in their market demand relative to that of fuels. This changing landscape presents both challenges and opportunities for the development of new technologies in the oil and gas industry. In particular, zeolites, which are already utilized in refineries to achieve numerous catalytic conversions, have potential to deliver a critical impact to the petrochemical industry.

There has been growing interest in the research and development of hierarchical zeolites to reduce diffusion limitations in reactions catalyzed by microporous zeolites. Hierarchical zeolites can be synthesized by different strategies, resulting in the creation of mesoporosity with different configurations in addition to some unique pore properties that are oftentimes characteristic to specific synthetic routes. In this talk, we will highlight an organotemplate-free synthesis of mesoporous zeolites and the novel multifunctional catalysts using these mesoporous zeolites that rendered unprecedented activity on selective ring opening of 1-methylnaphthalene with remarkably enhanced BTEX yields. Additional discussion will be dedicated to elucidating the critical role of zeolite mesoporosity and zeolite types on conversion and selectivity. We will conclude this talk with a general summary and recommendation about the utilization of mesoporous zeolites for industrial hydrocracking processes.