Zirconia has advantageous thermal stability and acid–base properties. The acidity character of ZrO2 can be enhanced through the sulfation process forming sulfated zirconia (ZrO2-SO4). An acidity test of the catalyst produced proved that the sulfate loading succeeded in increasing the acidity of ZrO2 as confirmed by the presence of characteristic absorptions of the sulfate group from the FTIR spectra of the catalyst. The ZrO2-SO4 catalyst can be further modified with transition metals, such as Platinum (Pt), Chromium (Cr), and Nickel (Ni) to increase catalytic activity and catalyst stability. It was observed that variations in the concentrations of Pt, Cr, and Ni produced a strong influence on the catalytic activity as the acidity and porosity of the catalyst increased with their addition. The activity, selectivity, and catalytic stability tests of Pt/ZrO2-SO4, Cr/ZrO2-SO4 and Ni/ZrO2-SO4 were carried out with their application in the hydrocracking reaction to produce liquid fuel. The percentage of liquid fractions produced using these catalysts were higher than the fraction produced using pure ZrO2 and ZrO2-SO4 catalyst.
Zeolites impregnated with Ni were successfully synthesized through wet impregnation using activated
natural zeolites (ANZs) and the nickel nitrate hexahydrate (Ni(NO3)2·6H2O) precursor at different
concentrations of 1%, 2% and 3% (w/w) (hereafter referred to as ANZ/Ni 1%, ANZ/Ni 2%, and
ANZ/Ni 3%). The synthesized products were characterized using X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier
transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), surface area analyzer (SAA), scanning electron microscopy
(SEM), total acidity measurements by employing ammonia adsorption and Brunauer-Emmett-Teller
(BET) theory. The obtained catalysts were employed in the hydrocracking of waste cooking oils, and
the formed products were analyzed through gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS). The
FTIR results indicated that ANZs impregnated with Ni can increase zeolite acidity. The test results of
total acidity revealed that 3% ANZ/Ni catalyst exhibited the maximum total acidity of 3.70 mmol/g.
XRD diffractogram confirmed the successful impregnation of Ni into ANZs, which was indicated by
the characteristic diffraction peaks appearing at 2θ of 9.75º, 13.41º, 19.56º, 22.25º, 25.61º, 27.66º and
31.91º. SEM analysis indicated that the particle size of zeolite catalysts was non-uniform, but these
catalysts exhibited a highly uniform surface after they were activated. Moreover, the ANZ catalysts
impregnated with different concentrations of Ni exhibited a highly uniform particle size. The ANZ/Ni
3% catalyst had small uniform particle. The BET results revealed that the ANZ/Ni 2% catalyst exhibited
the maximum pore volume and surface area and relatively smaller radii of pores. GC-MS was employed
to determine liquid products, and its results showed that the ANZ/Ni 3% catalyst had the maximum
amount of liquid products of 18%.
<p align="justify">The modification of natural zeolite has been conducted by dealumination and desilication using HCl and NaOH treatments as a catalyst for hydrocracking of used cooking oil into biogasoline. This research aimed to study the effect of dealumination and desilication on the natural zeolite activity and selectivity of a hydrocracking process. A variety of catalysts was prepared by applying 3, 6, and 9 M HCl in the dealumination of natural zeolite to produce DNZ(3-1), DNZ(3-2) DNZ(3-3), DNZ(6-1), DNZ(6-2), DNZ(6-3), DNZ(9-1), DNZ(9-2), and DNZ(9-3) catalysts and NaOH in the desilication of natural zeolite to obtain NZB catalyst. The results showed that the dealumination and the desilication treatments affected the liquid product conversion of used cooking oil from catalytic hydrocracking. The hydrocracking of used cooking oil with NZB catalyst produced the highest gasoline fuel conversion of 94.87%. </p><p align="justify"> </p><p align="justify"> </p>
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