Search

US-20260124607-A1 - METHOD FOR PRODUCING HYDROISOMERIZED AND/OR HYDROCRACKED HYDROCARBONS WITH HIERARCHICAL ZEOLITIC MATERIALS

US20260124607A1US 20260124607 A1US20260124607 A1US 20260124607A1US-20260124607-A1

Abstract

Methods for converting hydrocarbonaceous feedstocks to value added products via a hydroisomerization/hydrocracking catalyst that contains at least two or more zeolitic materials comprising hierarchical porosity, each material having a mesostructure between 2-50 nm are described. Specifically, the improved acid function in these catalysts is obtained by mesoporizing a first zeolite and blending the mesoporized first zeolite with an as-synthesized mesoporous second zeolite; or mesoporizing a first zeolite; mesoporizing a second zeolite, and blending the mesoporized first zeolite with the mesoporized second zeolite; or blending a first zeolite and a second zeolite; and mesoporizing the blend of the first zeolite and the second zeolite; wherein the first zeolite comprises Y zeolite, and the second zeolite comprises a one-dimensional, 10-ring zeolite.

Inventors

  • Melanie Schaal
  • Susan C. Koster
  • William Christopher Sheets
  • Kelsey L. Hodge
  • Mimoza Sylejmani-Rekaliu
  • Jaime G. Moscoso
  • Paula L. Bogdan

Assignees

  • UOP LLC

Dates

Publication Date
20260507
Application Date
20251027

Claims (18)

  1. 1 . A catalyst composition comprising: two or more zeolitic materials comprising hierarchical porosity, each zeolitic material having a mesostructure in a range of 2 to 50 nm.
  2. 2 . The catalyst composition of claim 1 wherein the two or more zeolitic materials comprise a blend of two or more mesoporous zeolites, the first zeolite comprising Y zeolite, and the second zeolite comprising a one-dimensional, 10-ring zeolite.
  3. 3 . The catalyst composition of claim 2 wherein the first zeolite comprises post-synthesis mesoporized Y zeolite, and wherein the second zeolite comprises as-synthesized mesoporous one-dimensional, 10-ring zeolite.
  4. 4 . The catalyst composition of claim 2 wherein the first zeolite comprises post-synthesis mesoporized Y zeolite, and wherein the second zeolite comprises post-synthesis mesoporized one-dimensional, 10-ring zeolite.
  5. 5 . The catalyst composition of claim 2 wherein the blend comprises a post-synthesis mesoporized blend of the first zeolite and the second zeolite.
  6. 6 . The catalyst composition of claim 2 wherein the first zeolite is present in an amount in a range of 20% to 75% of a total amount of the first and second zeolites.
  7. 7 . The catalyst composition of claim 2 wherein the first zeolite is present in an amount greater than or equal to 20% of a total amount of the first and second zeolites.
  8. 8 . A method of making a catalyst composition comprising: mesoporizing a first zeolite and blending the mesoporized first zeolite with an as-synthesized mesoporous second zeolite; or mesoporizing a first zeolite, mesoporizing a second zeolite, and blending the mesoporized first zeolite with the mesoporized second zeolite; or blending a first zeolite and a second zeolite, and mesoporizing the blend of the first zeolite and the second zeolite; wherein the first zeolite comprises Y zeolite, and the second zeolite comprises a one-dimensional, 10-ring zeolite.
  9. 9 . The method of claim 8 wherein the first zeolite is present in an amount in a range of 20% to 75% of a total amount of the first and second zeolites.
  10. 10 . The method of claim 8 wherein the first zeolite is present in an amount greater than or equal to 20% of a total amount of the first and second zeolites.
  11. 11 . A process comprising: hydrocracking and/or hydroisomerizing a feedstock in a hydrocracking or hydroisomerization reaction zone comprising a hydcroracking or hydroisomerization reactor in the presence of a hydrocracking and/or hydroisomerization catalyst composition to form a hydrocracked and/or hydroisomerized feedstock; wherein the hydrocracking and/or hydroisomerization catalyst composition comprises: two or more zeolitic materials comprising hierarchical porosity, each zeolitic material having a mesostructure from 2 to 50 nm.
  12. 12 . The process of claim 11 wherein the two or more zeolitic materials comprise a blend of two or more mesoporous zeolites, the first zeolite comprising Y zeolite, and the second zeolite comprising a one-dimensional, 10-ring zeolite.
  13. 13 . The process of claim 12 wherein the first zeolite comprises post-synthesis mesoporized Y zeolite, and wherein the second zeolite comprises as-synthesized mesoporous one-dimensional, 10-ring zeolite.
  14. 14 . The process of claim 12 wherein the first zeolite comprises post-synthesis mesoporized Y zeolite, and wherein the second zeolite comprises post-synthesis mesoporized one-dimensional, 10-ring zeolite.
  15. 15 . The process of claim 12 wherein the blend comprises a post-synthesis mesoporized blend of the first zeolite and the second zeolite.
  16. 16 . The process of claim 12 wherein the first zeolite is present in an amount in a range of 20% to 75% of a total amount of the first and second zeolites.
  17. 17 . The process of claim 12 wherein the first zeolite is present in an amount greater than or equal to 20% of a total amount of the first and second zeolites.
  18. 18 . The process of claim 11 wherein the feedstock is selected from vacuum gas oil, kerosene, jet fuel, distillate, light cycle oil, naphtha, deasphalted oil, atmospheric gas oil, coker gas oil, Fisher Tropsch wax, Fisher Tropsch oil, lube base oil, biogenic materials, waste fats, oils, greases, oil crops, or mixtures thereof.

Description

RELATED APPLICATIONS This application claims priority to U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 63/715,795, filed on Nov. 4, 2024, the entirety of which is incorporated herein by reference. FIELD OF THE INVENTION This invention relates to a method for converting various relatively high carbon number feed stocks into higher value products via a hydroisomerization and/or hydrocracking catalyst containing at least two or more zeolitic materials comprising hierarchical porosity, each material having a mesostructure between 2-50 nm. BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The field of art to which this invention pertains is the hydroisomerization and/or hydrocracking of a hydrocarbonaceous feedstocks. When formulated into catalysts, inclusion of mesoporous or hierarchical zeolites can be beneficial in several different applications such as hydrocracking, hydrocracking for lube base oil production, dewaxing, conversion of biogenic materials to biofuels, conversion of Fisher Tropsch products to sustainable aviation fuel, and the like. Hydroprocessing can include processes in which hydrocarbons are converted in the presence of a hydroprocessing catalyst and hydrogen to more valuable products. Hydrocracking is a hydroprocessing process in which hydrocarbons crack in the presence of hydrogen and a hydrocracking catalyst to lower molecular weight hydrocarbons. Depending on the desired output, a hydrocracking unit may contain one or more fixed beds of the same or different catalyst. Typically, the hydrocracking process is employed to crack hydrocarbon feeds such as vacuum gas oil (VGO) to products such as diesel fuel, jet fuel, kerosene, and gasoline motor fuels. Hydrocracking can be achieved in one or more stages. Usually, in a hydrocracking process, a hydrocracked effluent is fractionated which produces various fractions including an unconverted oil which may be recycled. In hydrocracking to produce lube oils, the feed stream is typically hydrogenated and isomerized; mild hydrocracking to smaller molecules may also occur. In that case, the properties of the unconverted oil are important in order to meet viscosity index requirements. In catalytic dewaxing, the content of high molecular weight n-paraffins in the feed stream is reduced through isomerization and/or mild cracking by exposing the feed to the catalyst in the presence of hydrogen at elevated pressures and temperatures. The goal is to improve the pour point of the feed stream. Biogenic materials can be converted to biofuels. For example, a wide range of waste fats, oils, and greases or feedstocks such as oil crops (i.e., biomass) can be converted into sustainable aviation fuel (SAF), which is a low-carbon alternative to conventional, petroleum-based jet fuel. For additional information regarding the conversion to biofuels, refer to WO 2008/058664, EP 1728844, WO 2009/039347, WO 2009/039335, WO 2009/039333, WO 2009/158268, and U.S. Pat. No. 7,915,460. The Fischer-Tropsch process involves converting synthesis gas comprising carbon monoxide and hydrogen to hydrocarbons using a heterogeneous catalyst. Fischer-Tropsch synthesis is known to yield a broad mixture of products including primarily paraffins, and some olefins. The individual compounds of such mixture can contain up to about 200 carbons. Typically, the number of carbons is between about 1 and about 150, with an average number of carbons of about 30. Such feed stocks are suitable for conversion into sustainable aviation fuel by subsequently selectively hydrocracking and/or hydroisomerizing the Fischer-Tropsch product stream in order to obtain the desired product slate and product properties. In this case, the hydrocracking reaction conditions may comprise a temperature in a range of 315° C. to 430° C., and/or a pressure in a range of 300-1000 psig. The hydrocracking catalyst may comprise Y zeolite, beta zeolite, SiO2—Al2O3, noble metals, base metals, or combinations thereof. Catalysts in the described processes generally contain a metal function and an acid function, and catalyst selection has a notable impact on both the product slate and product properties. In many cases, the acid function may be supplied by incorporating a zeolite with a suitable silica-alumina ratio to achieve the desired conversions while maintaining specific, desirable product properties. For example, the prior art hydrocracking catalysts will typically comprise one or more components selected from silica, alumina, silica-alumina, crystalline aluminosilicate, or other refractory inorganic oxide and at least one metal component from Group 6 or Groups 8-10. One or more hydrogenation components have been selected by the prior art to serve as the hydrogenation component in hydroconversion catalysts. The prior art has broadly taught that hydrogenation components may be selected from at least one of the following metals: iron, cobalt, nickel, ruthenium, rhodium, palladium, osmium, iridium, platinum, chromium, molybdenum, tungsten, vanadium, nio