Synthesis and modification ZSM-5 catalyst using microwaves and its application in upgrading Iranian oil refinery residue

Abstract

In this paper, synthesis, modification, and application of ZSM-5 in upgrading oil refinery residue was studied. The residue with API11American Petroleum Institute.; 15.51 and viscosity (at 50 0C); 275 cSt was from the Abadan oil refinery in Iran. ZSM-5 was synthesized using microwaves as a new method and was utilized in upgrading oil refinery residue for the first time. The synthesized ZSM-5 was modified using five metals, including Sn, Ni, Ag, Cu and Fe. The catalysts structures were identified using XRD, FTIR, SEM, EDX, and BET. Microwaves in catalyst synthesis led to an important reduction in the process duration. The influence of ZSM-5 modification with the metals on the heavy oil residue conversion, Sp Gr, viscosity, and API were evaluated at five temperature levels (360, 380, 400, 420, and 440 °C). The catalyst-to-feed ratio, 60 wt%, and reaction time, 2 h, were constant in all the experiments. The results revealed that Sn was the most appropriate metal to modify the catalyst. The maximum conversion was obtained at temperature of 440 °C, which resulted in a product with the specifications, including Sp Gr: 0.8183, viscosity: 1.711 cSt, and API: 41.42. The product conversion was 64.6 % and 86.4 wt% for HZSM-5 and Sn-ZSM-5, respectively, representing a 33.75 % increase. The distillation curves and carbon numbers of the feed and the product were investigated. The ranges of the carbon numbers and temperature for the feed and the product were 13–50, 230–582 °C and 5–16, 49.6–293.85 °C, respectively.