Theoretical patterns of selectivity in aging catalysts with special reference to the catalytic cracking of petroleum

The catalyst decay theory of Wojciechowski(1) is applied to a simplified theoretical mechanism of catalytic gas oil cracking. The resulting patterns of selectivity are presented and general conclusions drawn. It is shown that selectivity in gas oil cracking is bounded by optimum and minimum performance envelopes which confine the range of possible product distributions. On applique la theorie de degradation des catalyseurs de Wojciechowski(1) a un mecanisme theorique et simplifie de craquage catalytique de gaz-huile. On presente les diagrammes de selectivite resultants et tire des conclusions generales. On demontre que la selectivite dans le craquage de gaz-huile est limitee par des enveloppes de rendement optimal et minimal qui restreignent l'etendue des distribution possibles des produits.