Effects of Catalyst Preparation on Hydrocarbon Product Distribution in Hydrocracking of the Fischer-Tropsch Product with Low Pt-Loaded Catalysts

For the effective production of hydrocarbon liquid fuel in the hydrocracking of the Fischer-Tropsch (FT) product, the catalytic performance of Pt-loaded catalysts with low Pt content was investigated using an autoclave at 250 °C, an initial H2 pressure of 0.5 MPa, and a reaction time of 1 h. A screening study using Pt-loaded catalysts with a Pt content of 0.1 wt. % indicated that zeolite supports were more favorable for jet fuel (carbon numbers 9–15) production than amorphous oxide supports. The small particle size of the supported Pt particles and the high amount of medium acid sites for the supports led to higher performance of the Pt-loaded zeolite catalysts. In the hydrocracking reaction over Pt catalysts using the zeolite support with the high amount of medium acid sites, the yields of the corresponding jet fuel at 0.02 and 0.1 wt. % were almost the same. Pt-loaded catalysts with a Pt content of 0.02 wt. % were prepared using water-in-oil (w/o) microemulsions and their particle size was controlled between 1.0 and 2.6 nm. While the yield of the corresponding jet fuel was independent of Pt particle size, smaller Pt particles typically promoted the production of lighter hydrocarbons.