@misc{10481/106961,
year = {2025},
month = {9},
url = {https://hdl.handle.net/10481/106961},
abstract = {Catalytic upgrading of vacuum residue (VR) is critical for enhancing fuel yield and reducing
waste in petroleum refining. This study explores VR cracking over a novel cerium-loaded
acidified metakaolinite catalyst (MKA800–20%Ce) prepared via calcination at 800 ◦C, acid
leaching, and wet impregnation with 20 wt.% Ce. The catalyst was characterized using FTIR,
BET, XRD, TGA, and GC–MS to assess structural, textural, and thermal properties. Catalytic
cracking was carried out in a fixed-bed batch reactor at 350 ◦C, 400 ◦C, and 450 ◦C. The
MKA800@Ce20% catalyst showed excellent thermal stability and surface activity, especially
at higher temperatures. At 450 ◦C, the catalyst yielded approximately 11.72 g of total liquid
product per 20 g of VR (representing a ~61% yield), with ~3.81 g of coke (~19.1%) and
the rest as gaseous products (~19.2%). GC-MS analysis revealed enhanced production of
light naphtha (LN), heavy naphtha (HN), and kerosene in the 400–450 ◦C range, with a
clear temperature-dependent shift in product distribution. Structural analysis confirmed
that cerium incorporation enhanced surface acidity, redox activity, and thermal stability,
promoting deeper cracking and better product selectivity. Kinetics were investigated using
an eight-lump first-order model comprising 28 reactions, with kinetic parameters optimized
through a genetic algorithm implemented in MATLAB. The model demonstrated strong
predictive accuracy taking into account the mean relative error (MRE = 9.64%) and the
mean absolute error (MAE = 0.015) [MAE: It is the absolute difference between experimental
and predicted values; MAE is dimensionless (reported simply as a number, not %). MRE
is relative to the experimental value; it is usually expressed as a percentage (%)] across
multiple operating conditions. The above findings highlight the potential of Ce-modified
kaolinite-based catalysts for efficient atmospheric pressure VR upgrading and provide
validated kinetic parameters for process optimization.},
publisher = {MDPI},
keywords = {Catalytic cracking},
keywords = {Cerium},
keywords = {Vacuum residue (VR)},
title = {Kinetic and Thermodynamic Study of Vacuum Residue Cracking over Cerium-Modified Metakaolinite Catalyst},
doi = {10.3390/pr13103126},
author = {Al-Ameri, Osamah Basil and Alzuhairi, Mohammed and Shakor, Zaidoon and Bailón-García, Esther and Carrasco-Marín, Francisco and Amaro-Gahete, Juan},
}