Effective factors on performance of zeolite based metal catalysts in light hydrocarbon aromatization

Aromatic hydrocarbons are essential compounds, that the presence of which in fuels can improve the octane number. The conversion of the light alkanes to high value aromatics is vital from theoretical and industrial standpoints. Zeolites such as ZSM-5 play an essential role in the aromatization of light alkanes. This paper highlights the mechanism of aromatization of light alkanes such as methane, ethane, propane, butane, and its isomers. Furthermore, effective factors on the aromatization of light alkanes including metal type, crystallinity, acidity, space velocity, pretreatment of zeolites, co-feeding of light hydrocarbon, and operating factors such as temperature have been investigated to determine how a system of zeolite with metals can be useful to reach aromatization with high conversion.

EFEKTIFITAS MUTU BAHAN BAKAR DARI PREMIUM KE PERTALITE DENGAN PENAMBAHAN OCTANE BOOSTER UNTUK MEMINIMALISASI EMISI GAS BUANG DI PT. PERTAMINA RU III.

Pertumbuhan Industri yang saat ini semakin berkembang pesat mengikuti kebutuhan dan permintaan konsumen. Salah satunya adalah kendaraan bermesin yang teknologinya dibuat semakin canggih, berkualitas tinggi dan hemat bahan bakar. Research Octane Number (RON) atau angka oktan riset merupakan angka oktan sebuah bahan bakar untuk mesin menggunakan busi, yang diperoleh dari perbandingan intensitas ketukan dengan campuran bahan bakar acuan ketika keduanya diuji dalam mesin Cooperative Fuel Research (CFR). Nilai RON diambil dengan membandingkan campuran antara iso-Oktana dan n-Heptana. Misalnya, sebuah bahan bakar dengan RON 88 berarti 88% kandungan bahan bakar itu adalah iso-Oktana dan 12%-nya n-Heptana. Pada penelitian ini, proses blending dilakukan dengan cara mencampurkan Premium dengan Octane Booster di Laboratorium R&D di PT. Pertamina RU III Plaju dengan Formulasi Blending Premium RON 88 (995 ml, 990 ml, 985 ml, dan 980 ml) dan Octane Booster (5 ml, 10 ml, 15 ml, dan 20 ml) sehingga menghasilkan Pertalite RON 90 yang berdasarkan pada syarat mutu bahan bakar minyak sesuai Standar Industri Indonesia No. 0258-79. Parameter analisa hasil penelitian adalah Angka Oktan Riset (ASTM D-2699), Specific Grafity (ASTM D-1298), Distilasi (ASTM D-86), dan Reid Vapour Pressure (ASTM D-323) dengan Interprestasi terhadap dosis dan pengaruh terhadap emisi gas buang yang baik.

Separation of branched alkane feeds by a synergistic action of zeolite and metal-organic framework

Zeolites and Metal Organic Frameworks (MOFs) have frequently been considered as “competitors” for the development of new advanced separation processes. The production of high quality gasoline is currently achieved through the energy demanding conventional Total Isomerization Process (TIP) that separates pentane and hexane isomers while not reaching yet the ultimate goal of a Research Octane Number (RON) higher than 92. Herein we demonstrate how an unprecedented synergistic action of two complementary benchmark materials of each family of porous solids, a commercially available zeolite, 5A and the bio-derived Al-dicarboxylate MOF MIL-160(Al), leads to a novel adsorptive process for octane upgrading of gasoline through an efficient separation of pentane and hexane isomer mixtures into fractions of low and high research octane number (RON). This innovative mixed bed adsorbent strategy encompasses a thermodynamically-driven separation of hexane isomers according to the degree of branching by MIL-160(Al) coupled to a steric rejection of pentane and hexane linear isomers by the molecular sieve zeolite 5A. The adsorptive separation ability of this MOF/zeolite duo was further evaluated under industrial operating conditions by sorption breakthrough and continuous cyclic experiments with a mixed bed of shaped adsorbents. Remarkably, at the industrially relevant temperature of 423 K, an ideal sorption hierarchy of low RON over high RON alkanes is achieved, i.e., n-hexane >> n-pentane >> 2-methylpentane > 3-methylpentane >>> 2,3-dimethylbutane > isopentane ≈ 2,2-dimethylbutane, and an exceptional ideal productivity of 1.14 mol.dm-3 is attained for a final high RON isomers product of 92, which corresponds to a substantial leap-forward when compared with existing processes.

Identification and Quantification of Hydrocarbon Functional Groups in Gasoline Using 1H-NMR Spectroscopy for Property Prediction

Gasoline is one of the most important distillate fuels obtained from crude refining; it is mainly used as an automotive fuel to propel spark-ignited (SI) engines. It is a complex hydrocarbon fuel that is known to possess several hundred individual molecules of varying sizes and chemical classes. These large numbers of individual molecules can be assembled into a finite set of molecular moieties or functional groups that can independently represent the chemical composition. Identification and quantification of groups enables the prediction of many fuel properties that otherwise may be difficult and expensive to measure experimentally. In the present work, high resolution 1H nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy, an advanced structure elucidation technique, was employed for the molecular characterization of a gasoline sample in order to analyze the functional groups. The chemical composition of the gasoline sample was then expressed using six hydrocarbon functional groups, as follows: paraffinic groups (CH, CH2 and CH3), naphthenic CH-CH2 groups and aromatic C-CH groups. The obtained functional groups were then used to predict a number of fuel properties, including research octane number (RON), motor octane number (MON), derived cetane number (DCN), threshold sooting index (TSI) and yield sooting index (YSI).