Molar Kinetics in Catalytic Hydrocracking of Asphaltenes

Abstract

The hydrocracking of a pentane-insoluble asphaltene over NiMo/γ-Al2O3 was investigated in a microbatch reactor at 703 K. The cracking kinetics of the asphaltene was analyzed on a total molar basis. The first-order kinetics fits the experimental data in reaction times ≤30 min adequately, to give the rate constant of 0.0498 min-1. For reaction times over 30 min, however, secondary reactions such as coke formation could become significant. The formation probability of gas products decreases from the initial value of circa 0.8 to a stable level of 0.6 in 30 min, and the formation probability of liquid products increases from 0.2 to 0.4 accordingly.