Abstract
Stabilization of SO42−/ZrO2 catalyst activity was investigated using Pt/SO42−/ZrO2 catalyst loaded with a small amount of platinum. Pt-loaded SO42−/ZrO2 catalyst showed excellent stability. Presumably the Pt acted as a promoter for removing coke precursors from the catalyst. The developed Pt/SO42−/ZrO2 catalyst had higher activity than zeolitic catalyst, and higher tolerance to both water and sulfur in feed oil than chlorided alumina catalyst. Commercial operation with the developed catalyst achieved 3 points higher research octane number (RON) of product oil at lower reaction temperature compared with the previous zeolite catalyst used for naphtha isomerization.
