Hydroisomerization of n-tetradecane over Pt/SAPO-11 catalyst

The hydroisomerization of n-tetradecane over SAPO-11 supported Pt catalyst have been investigated in a fixed bed reactor by changing reaction parameters such as temperature, pressure and WHSV, as well as the H2/HC ratio. High yields of branched feed isomers, which had high mono-branched to multi-branched ratio, were achieved with Pt/SAPO-11 catalyst of 0.4% Pt loading. The catalyst showed high stability and good regeneration property. The unique characteristic of the catalyst is its high selectivity to the branched isomers under relatively low reaction pressures. It has been proposed that the high selectivity to feed isomers and good catalyst stability result from the combination of steric constraints of the micropores of SAPO-11 and high Pt dispersion as well as the mild acidity. A pore channel catalysis mechanism has also been proposed to account for the formation of feed isomers.