Catalytic pyrolysis of atmospheric residue of petroleum using pillared interlayed clay containing lanthanum and aluminum polyhydroxications (LaAl13-PILC)

The preparation, characterization and application of materials based on montmorillonite natural clay containing aluminum polyhydroxocomplexes of Keggin type ions (Al-13) as intercalating agent and hydrated lanthanum complexes were carried out. The introduction of Al and La inside the interlayer space increased the basal distance d((001)) of the clay. The evaluated materials, designed as Natural Montmorillonite Clay (NMC), Al-13-PILC and LaAl13-PILC were characterized by X-ray diffraction for evaluating the basal spacing of the clay, nitrogen adsorption for determination of the specific surface area and pore size of the materials and scanning electron microscopy, in order to observe the morphology. The catalytic activity was verified on the pyrolysis of Atmospheric Residue of petroleum (ATR), at temperature of 500 degrees C, in a micro-reactor coupled to gas chromatograph and mass spectrometry. The results showed that LaAl13-PILC material presented high catalytic activity for this process. The lanthanum preferably fills the interlayer space of the Al-13-PILC, generating acid sites and therefore increasing the activity for ATR cracking. The obtained products were hydrocarbons in the range of light gases (C-2-C-4), gasoline (C-5-C-10) and diesel (C-11-C-20). This result is due the combination of porosity and acid properties of the PILC samples.