Catalytic Pyrolysis of Fuel Oil Blended Stock to Methane and Hydrogen Gases Products Using Ni/ZSM-5 catalyst

Abstract

The complexity of processing fuel oil blended stock (FOBS) has raised environmental and waste management concerns, necessitating the transformation of FOBS into eco-friendly and higher-value products. This study explores the pyrolysis of FOBS, with focus on the production of CH₄ and H₂ using a Ni/ZSM-5 catalyst. The novelty lies in investigating the effects of varying the catalyst-to-feedstock ratio and catalyst weight percentage on gas product yield. Impregnation methods were used to generate 1, 3, and 5 wt. % Ni/ZSM-5, and characterized by XRD, SEM, BET, and FTIR. At a heat rate of 10 - 15 °C/min and 150 °C/min of nitrogen, samples with catalyst-to-feedstock ratios of 1:5, 1:10, and 1:15 were pyrolyzed at 500 °C in 60 min. 1 wt. % Ni/ZSM-5 produced the most H₂ and CH₄ gases at the catalyst to FOBS of 1:15 ratio, with CH₄ and H₂ selectivity 33.11 % and 66.89 %, respectively. This demonstrates that a small amount of Ni loaded into HZSM-5 can efficiently generate a significant quantity of valuable gas products.