Exploring structural features of USY zeolite in the catalytic cracking of Jatropha Curcas L. seed oil towards higher gasoline/diesel yield and lower CO2 emission

•Catalysts with varied mesoporosity of USY zeolites were tested in JCO catalytic cracking.•Catalyst with higher USY mesoporosity exhibited higher gasoline/diesel yield.•Higher mesoporosity increased olefins selectivity but decreased aromatics selectivity.•Catalyst with lower mesoporosity decreased the coke yield and increased gasoline RON.•JCO is a promising renewable oil source to produce green liquid fuels.

Fluid catalytic cracking (FCC) is one of the main processes for gasoline/diesel production in the oil refining industry, it is a challenge to design catalyst towards high gasoline/diesel yield and low coke formation (i.e. lower CO2 emission). Take this into account, a set of ultra-stable Y (USY) zeolites with varied mesopore structures were designed and prepared for the catalytic cracking of a renewable oil source Jatropha Curcas L. seed oil (JCO). Reaction temperature and catalyst-to-oil (C/O) ratio were also investigated. It was found that, the catalyst with larger mesopore volume showed enhanced gasoline/diesel selectivities, higher olefins and lower aromatics yield in gasoline which gave rise to lower octane number. The catalyst with smaller mesopore volume enhanced hydride transfer activity, and gave the lowest coke yield and the highest octane number. To obtain high gasoline/diesel yield, large USY mesopore volume, low reaction temperature and low C/O ratio is required. With the aim of low coking and high octane gasoline, small USY mesopore volume, moderate reaction temperature (such as 480 °C) and moderate C/O ratio (such as 6, wt/wt) is good choice for gasoline/diesel production via JCO catalytic cracking. As such, the catalyst prepared from mesoporous USY may find application for obtaining liquid hydrocarbon fuels from JCO.

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