Recovery of Useful Hydrocarbons from Petroleum Residual Oil by Catalytic Cracking with Steam over Zirconia-Supporting Iron Oxide Catalyst

Abstract

To reduce the consumption of hydrogen when converting heavy oil to light oil, the catalytic cracking of a heavy oil (residue of atmospheric distillation) with steam was examined. Two iron oxide-based catalystshematite (α-Fe2O3) and goethite (FeOOH, denoted herein as FeOX catalyst)were used. It was found that the heavy oil was converted to a mixture of useful light hydrocarbons (i.e., gasoline, kerosene, and gas-oil) over iron oxide-based catalysts. Moreover, because the FeOX catalyst possessed mesopores with diameters of 6−10 nm, it exhibited higher activity than the α-Fe2O3 catalyst without the production of carbonaceous residue. The catalytic activity could be enhanced by loading ZrO2 on the FeOX catalyst. From the X-ray diffraction analysis and Mossbauer measurement, it was considered that the active oxygen species generated from H2O over ZrO2 particles spilled over the FeOX surface, where the oxidized decomposition of heavy oil occurred.