Catalytic distillation of an atmospheric petroleum resid using HZSM-5 and HY zeolites

This work presents a study of the reactive distillation of atmospheric petroleum residue (ATR) containing 10% in mass of HY or HZSM-5 zeolites. The process aims the upgrade of ATR in order to obtain valuable products. The fundamental characteristic of the process is the immediate separation under thermal conditions and subsequent reaction of the products generated by the zeolite catalysts, favoring the displacement of the equilibrium towards the desired reactions. Such reactions occurred in the heterogeneous form, adding the HY or HZSM-5 zeolites to the ATR charge, and heating the mixtures at temperatures in the range of 50 to 500 degrees C. The heating promotes intense heat exchange, solid-liquid reactions, obtaining the desired products. In the reactive distillation process, in presence of the acid sites of the zeolites, the short contact time of the hydrocarbons thermally cracked at low pressures favored secondary cracking reactions, increasing the selectivity to lower weigh molecular hydrocarbons, in the range of liquid gases, naphta, gasoline, jet fuel, diesel and lubricants. The obtained results proved that catalytic or reactive distillation is a promising technology for waste recovery that is surplus to the atmospheric and vacuum distillation processes for the refineries.