(c)
(a)
(b)
(d)
12
100
3.5
100
Feed Conventional Zeopore
Reference Zeopore
3
10
95
80
2.5
8
90
60
2
6
5x less
1.5
85
40
4
1
2
80
20
0.5
0
0
10
20
30
40
75
0
0
Mesoporosity / %
Cold ow properties improvement / ˚C
Diesel fraction / wt%
LPG formed / wt%
Figure 9 (a, b) Mesoporosity of a conventional uni-directional zeolite (orange) and a mesoporous one derived via Zeopore (blue) (c, d) Performance of the latter two zeolites in diesel dewaxing
in zeolite catalyst manufacturing. For example, in the above-mentioned case study on methanol conversion, the selectivity increase of the meso- porous ZSM-5 is partially attributed to a six-fold boost in metal disper- sion (see Figure 10 ). Chemical recyclingofwasteplastics Zeolites are of great value in the fur- ther workup of pyrolysis oil derived from the thermal cracking of waste plastics. In these applications, mes- oporous faujasite and ZSM-5-based zeolite catalysts improve the overall efficiency of the process. However, in the catalytic pyrolysis of waste plastics, the role of zeolites is so far much less established at indus- trial scale. This is likely due to the immense challenge for the bulky
essential selectivity benefits (see Figure 10 ). Bifunctional catalyst manufacturing For many applications in hydro- processing, conversion of aromatics and alcohols, and Fischer-Tropsch- based conversions, incorporation of the metal function is a key-value component in the design of the over- all bifunctional zeolite catalysts. Zeopore has consolidated on the synergy between mesoporisation and metal deposition to yield a solu- tion that enhances the accessibility of zeolites while depositing various metals on the catalyst at unprece- dented dispersions. The developed technology can be applied to any zeolite and most metals and has the potential to become a new standard
plastic polymers chains to react with the inaccessible active sites of conventional zeolites. Zeopore has established that mes- oporisation enables the catalytic pyrolysis of waste plastics, yield- ing order-of-magnitude activity improvements over conventional zeolites (see Figure 11 ). Its technol- ogy toolbox enables it to introduce significant levels of mesoporosity without the loss of intrinsic prop- erties, such as microporosity and acidity. In addition, it can tailor its zeolites to act as scavengers for common poisons, thereby ensuring an economic catalyst lifetime. catalytic results unequivocally prove the value of accessible mesoporous zeolite catalysts in FCC and hydro- cracking, hydro-isomerisation Impact and conclusion The above-described (dewaxing), alcohol valorisation, and chemical plastic waste conver- sion. The demonstrated benefits in refining are worth 10-15 million dollars per year for average units and therefore contribute signifi - cantly to the profitability of refining businesses. Moreover, mesoporous zeolites are expected to play a piv- otal role in facilitating the shift in converting fossil feedstocks for use as fuels to converting sustainably sourced feedstocks into petrochem- ical building blocks. Zeopore offers highly performant mesoporous zeolites at an econom- ically viable low cost, reproduci-
(b)
(a)
Propylene selectivity in C 1 -C 5 (single pass) 50%
100
Zeopore technology
80
+22%
60
40%
40
Conventional
30%
20
0
20%
Mesoporosity / %
Metal dispersion / %
0
2
4
6
Time on stream / days
Figure 10 (a) Mesoporosity and metal dispersion of conventional (orange) and Zeopore- derived metal-containing ZSM-5 zeolite (blue) (b) The selectivity to propylene in the conversion of methanol over the latter two zeolite catalysts at different temperatures
48 Catalysis 2022
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