Thermal and catalytic cracking of petroleum residue oil

Abstract

Thermal and catalytic cracking over synthesized nickel-molybdenum supported on aluminum borate (NiMo/AB) catalysts were studied. A series of aluminum borate supports with various aluminum borate (A/B) weight ratios were prepared by precipitation method. NiMo/AB catalysts were prepared by impregnation of nickel nitrate hexahydrate (Ni(NO3)2.6H2O) and ammonium heptamolybdate tetrahydrate ((NH4)6M07O24.4H2O) solution. These samples have been characterized with respect to surface areas, average pore diameters, pore size distribution, and acidity strengths. Thermal and catalytic cracking of atmospheric petroleum residue oil were carried out in a high pressure batch reactor at 340°C, 3 h reaction time and 0.5 g catalyst loading. The results revealed that catalytic cracking gave better product conversion and yield compared to thermal reaction. The conversion was 51.43 wt% from thermal reaction compared to 60-65 wt% from catalytic cracking. The yield of gasoline was 6.25 wt% and 11.5-13.37 wt% from thermal and catalytic cracking, respectively.