ERTC 2022
Mesoporous zeolites deliver catalytic benefits
Kurt Du Mong ZEOPORE technologies
Catalytic results make compelling busi- ness cases in refining, petrochemicals, and the conversion of methanol, biomass and waste plastics. Zeopore’s industrial mesoporisation technologies have the potential to make current processes in oil refineries and pet- rochemical plants more profitable, flexible, and sustainable. In addition, its innovative, accessible zeolites facilitate the develop- ment of emerging markets such as bio- mass or waste plastics conversions. Mesoporous zeolites have gained a rep- utation as excellent catalysts. However, they are traditionally associated with a high price tag, degrading intrinsic zeolitic properties, and poor industrial scalabil- ity. Zeopore has developed a technol- ogy platform to convert commercially and readily available zeolite into a high-qual- ity mesoporous zeolite. These tunable and cost-effective zeolites have proven enhanced catalytic benefits in several key applications and are produced at an affordable price. Post-synthetic mesoporisation is typi- cally applied to zeolite powders and is therefore often applied after zeolite crys- tallisation and before catalyst production. The mesoporisation process offers signifi- cant synergies with both steps (see Figure 1 ). For example, post-synthetic mesopori- sation decouples the need to generate the external surface during hydrothermal syn- thesis. Alternatively, the favourable syn- ergy between mesoporisation and catalyst production allows for much more efficient metal deposition.
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Figure 1 Overview of mesoporisation in the zeolite catalyst supply chain
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Figure 3 (left) The impact of standard (grey) and Zeopore’s (pink) mesopore formation on microporosity (right) Order of magnitude activity benefits mesoporous zeolites bring to the catalytic pyrolysis of waste plastics
A unique platform of mesoporised fauja- site catalysts and ZSM-5-based additives has been developed for FCC. These display increased porosities and enhanced hydro- thermal stability, delivering increased product selectivities and other significant benefits. Also, in hydrocracking, Zeopore’s advanced mesoporisation boosts mes- did you know Zeopore has developed a technology platform to convert commercially available zeolite into a high-quality mesoporous zeolite?
resistance towards coke formation and a significant boost in olefin selectivity. In hydroprocessing applications, the incorporation of the metal function is a key value component in the design of bi- functional zeolite catalysts. The advanced mesoporisation technology helps achieve enhanced accessibility of zeolites while depositing various metals on the catalyst at significant dispersions. Zeopore also enables sustainable sup- ply chains in biomass, methanol, and waste plastics. In chemical waste plas- tics recycling, the advanced mesopori- sation technology is of great value in the further work-up of pyrolysis oil derived from thermal cracking of waste plastics. Even more vital, Zeopore’s mesopori- sation approaches enable the catalytic pyrolysis of waste plastics, yielding sub- stantial activity improvements over con- ventional zeolites. Zeopore is currently shifting from dem- onstrating the added value of its tuned mesoporised zeolites to industrial scale- up and commercialisation in collabora- tion with leading international parties. Our manufacturing processes can be custom- ised to the demands of various partners and industrial scale up to several tonnes of zeolite catalysts. Zeopore’s technol- ogy platform has demonstrated that it can make refining processes more productive, sustainable, and economical.
oporosity and preserves the fragile USY zeolitic properties. Higher accessibility brings gains in selectivity, activity, and stability for catalysts varying from diesel- selective to naphtha-selective catalysts. The benefits of mesoporisation in dewaxing are even higher based on the unfavourable ratio between the size of the substrate molecules and the dimension of zeolite micropores. Here, tailored mesop- orisation enables substantial benefits in diesel or lube molecule retention com- pared to standard non-mesoporised zeo- lites and state-of-the-art mesoporisation technologies. In alcohol valorisation, such as metha- nol-to-olefins, advanced mesoporisation offers opportunities for subsequent cata- lytic upgrading towards olefins and other platform molecules. Zeopore’s tailored mesoporisation delivers an increased
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Contact: info@zeopore.com
Figure 2 Mesoporosity of a conventional uni-directional zeolite (blue) and a mesoporous one derived via Zeopore (pink). Performance of the latter two zeolites in diesel dewaxing
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