Preparation and application of hierarchical ZSM-5 based catalysts for upgradation of Saudi Arabia’s medium crude oil

In this work, the effect of hierarchical pores in ZSM-5 based catalysts was investigated for upgradation of Saudi Arabia’s medium crude oil under methane environment. Such pores were created in the HZSM-5 by sequential desilication-dealumination treatment. Ag and Ga species were incorporated in the samples by incipient wetness impregnation (IWI). The samples were characterized by XRD, N 2 physisorption, TEM, NH 3 -TPD, and Pyridine-FTIR. The hierarchical ZSM-5 based catalysts performed well in the product oil and light aromatics, which is mainly attributed to the fact that the hierarchical catalysts alleviated the diffusion limitations for the heavy components. Furthermore, when the Ga content is 2 wt% and the Ag content is 1 wt%, the best product oil was obtained, and light aromatics increased to 16.04 wt%. This is because of the matching of hierarchical ZSM-5 supports and metal components to produces an appropriate ratio of Brønsted acid to Lewis acid.