New catalytic materials for meeting the challenge of clean gasoline & diesel fuel production

New catalytic materials (shape-selective zeolites, solid superacid catalytic materials for the alkylation, and high surface area bimetallic nitrides), which may bring important improvement or technical breakthrough to the petroleum refining technology for producing reformulated gasoline and low sulfur and aromatics diesel fuel, were studied. Major improvements were achieved using high reactivity-stability MFI type ZRP and low cost beta zeolites to produce high octane number gasoline and light olefins for etherification and alkylation processes. A solid P-W heteropolyacid supported on SiO₂ for replacing currently used HF and H₂SO₄ in alkylation process of isobutane with butenes, is under the pilot trial.