Fuel, Vol.209, 521-528, 2017
Hydroisomerization of n-hexadecane using Pt/alumina-Beta zeolite catalysts for producing renewable diesel with low pour point
The performance of bifunctional Pt/Alumina-Beta zeolite catalysts for the hydroisomerization (HDI) of n-C16 was studied by varying the zeolite content in the support. A relationship between overall activity and support acidity was observed, indicating that the skeletal isomerization over zeolite acid sites is the rate-determining step. Isomerization and cracking products distributions are independent of the zeolite content in the support for the entire range of n-C16 conversion. The catalysts of the present study are more selective than those previously reported in the literature with Beta zeolite, which is probably associated to the use of a high Si/Al zeolite. Finally, it was observed that the pour point of the hydroisomerized products decreases with the overall conversion and correlates with the primary and secondary carbon contents of the products.