Catalytic activities of binary molten salts composed of ZnCl 2 and metal chlorides for hydrocracking of phenanthrene

Abstract

Phenanthrene, a coal model compound, was hydrocracked in a batch autoclave at 400 °C for 3 h with an initial hydrogen pressure of 9.8 MPa and equimolar concentrations of molten salts. Binary salts composed of ZnCl 2 and metal chlorides, such as CuCl, MoCl 5CrCl 3, NiCl 2, and PdCl 2, etc., showed superior catalytic activity to pure ZnCl 2 (MCI x/ZnCl 2 molar ratio was fixed to 1 4 ). The isomerization of cyclohexene and H 2−D 2 exchange reactions were also examined to estimate acid-catalytic and hydrogen-activation abilities, respectively. Both activities were found to increase with the addition of metal chloride to ZnCl 2, indicating synergistic catalytic activity. Phenanthrene conversions (as a measure of hydrocracking activities of the salts) over some catalysts correlated rectilinearly with yields of isomerized products of cyclohexane.