PFG NMR has been applied to study intracrystalline diffusion in USY zeolite as well as in the parent ammonium-ion exchanged zeolite Y used to produce the USY by zeolite steaming. The diffusion studies have been performed for a broad range of molecular displacements and with two different types of probe molecules (n-octane and 1,3,5-triisopropylbenzene) having critical molecular diameters smaller and larger than the openings of the zeolite micropores. Our experimental data unambiguously show that, in contrast to what is usually assumed in the literature, the intracrystalline mesopores do not significantly affect intracrystalline diffusion in USY. This result indicates that the intracrystalline mesopores of USY zeolite do not form a connected network, which would allow diffusion through crystals only via mesopores.

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Diffusivities of n-octane in particles of industrial fluid catalytic cracking (FCC) catalysts and in zeolite USY, which is the main zeolitic component of the particles, are reported. Diffusion measurements have been performed by using pulsed field gradient (PFG) NMR for a broad range of molecular displacements and temperatures. The recorded diffusivities are used to evaluate the relevance of various transport modes in the particles of FCC catalysts, such as diffusion in the micropores of the zeolite crystals located in the particles, diffusion through the surface layer of these crystals, and diffusion in the meso-and macropores of the particles, for the rate of molecular exchange between catalyst particles and the surrounding atmosphere. This rate is shown to be primarily related to the diffusion in the meso-and macropores of the particles under the condition of fast molecular exchange between these pores and the zeolite crystals located in the particles. The diffusivity associated with this type of diffusion (i.e., the intraparticle diffusivity) is found to correlate well with the catalytic performance of FCC catalysts having the same fractions of the same zeolite USY but different systems of meso-and macropores.

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