Metal poisoning of catalyst particles as studied by x-ray imaging at multiple length scales

Dr. Florian MEIRER, Utrecht University, The Netherlands

Modern X-ray imaging techniques allow for the combination of high spatial resolution, a large field of view, short dwell times, and the capability to obtain spectroscopic information.  This has opened the door to high-resolution studies correlating chemistry and morphology of, for example, whole catalyst particles used in fluid catalytic cracking (FCC).

FCC  is  an  important  process  in  the  petrochemical  industry,  accounting  for  40-45%  of  worldwide gasoline production. In FCC, catalyst particles are employed to crack large hydrocarbon fractions into more valuable materials, such as gasoline and propylene. During operation FCC catalyst particles accumulate metals such as Fe, Ni, V, Ca, and Na that have been related to catalyst deactivation. However, detailed knowledge about metal deposition mechanisms as well as the deposition’s effects on particle morphology and chemistry is limited.

In this presentation I will summarize our recent studies of individual FCC catalyst particles using synchrotron based hard X-ray full field transmission X-ray microscopy, hard X-ray fluorescence tomography, and soft X-ray ptychographic imaging [6].

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