Formação de mesoporosidade em zeólitas ZSM-5: avaliação do método de preparação e do potencial como catalisador ácido através do craqueamento de cicloexano

Abstract

Due to their potential as acid catalyst and hydrothermal stability, USY, ZSM-5 and modernite zeolites are widely used in several processes of petroleum refining and petrochemical industries. With the discovery of new reserves in Brazil, the petroleum industry must adequate its technology to be able to process heavy oil fractions and satisfy the increased demand for more valuable derivatives (gasoline, diesel and olefins). To achieve this, a better performance of such zeolites needs to be reach by improvement of the active sites accessibility and/or diminishing the diffusion path inside of their microporous system. In this context, the objective of this research was to synthesize ZSM-5 zeolites with hierarchical pore structure and evaluate their potential as acid catalyst in the cracking of hydrocarbons, using cyclohexane as model molecule. In the synthesis of these materials, Black Pearls 2000 carbon and an organosilane surfactant molecule were employed as structure-directing agent for mesopores formation. Zeolites were characterized by X-ray fluorescence, X-ray diffraction, nitrogen physisorption, small-angle X-ray scattering, scanning electron microscopy, nuclear magnetic resonance of 27Al nucleus, Fourier transformed infrared spectroscopy and ammonium temperature programmed desorption. The properties and acid activity of the synthesized zeolites were compared with a ZSM-5 zeolite without mesopores. The results revealed that the used synthesis methodologies were effective in the formation of crystals of ZSM-5 zeolite containing the intrinsic micropores of the MFI structure combined with the presence of intracrystalline mesopores. The Black Pearls 2000 carbon generated mesopores that were an inverse replica of the carbon particles with an average diameter of 12 nm and the amphiphilic surfactant mesopores with diameters of about 4 nm. The cracking of cyclohexane showed that the solids with hierarchical structure of pores preserved the acid potential of ZSM-5 zeolites, with all the micro-mesoporous zeolites presenting similar catalytic behaviour related with the yield and selectivity in the considered reaction. Other hand, the presence of mesopores favoured the formation of products resulting from isomerization and hydrogen transfer reactions.