In this study, we examine the effect of integrating different carbon nanostructures (carbon nanotubes, CNTs, graphene nanoplatelets, GNPs) into Ni- and Ni-W-based bi-functional catalysts for hydrocracking of heptane performed at 400 °C. The effect of varying the SiO2/Al2O3 ratio of the zeolite Y support (between 5 and 30) on the heptane conversion is also studied. The results show that the activity, in terms of heptane conversion, followed the order CNT/Ni-ZY5 (92%) > GNP/Ni-ZY5 (89%) > CNT/Ni-W-ZY30 (86%) > GNP/Ni-W-ZY30 (85%) > CNT/Ni-ZY30 (84%) > GNP/Ni-ZY30 (83%). Thus, the CNT-based catalysts exhibited slightly higher heptane conversion as compared to the GNP-based ones. Furthermore, bimetallic (Ni-W) catalysts possessed higher BET surface areas (725 m2/g for CNT/Ni-W-ZY30 and 612 m2/g for CNT/Ni-ZY30) and exhibited enhanced hydrocracking activity as compared to the monometallic (Ni) catalyst with the same zeolite support and type of carbon structure. It was also shown that CNT-based catalysts possessed higher regeneration capability than their GNP-based counterparts due to the slightly higher thermal stability of the CVD-grown CNTs.
Keywords: bi-functional catalyst; carbon nanotubes; graphene; heptane; hydroprocessing.