Fuel Processing Technology 116 (2013) 217221

Contents lists available at ScienceDirect

Fuel Processing Technology

journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/fuproc

Catalytic conversion of C4 fraction for the production of light olens

and aromatics
Xianghai Meng, Zhixi Wang, Rui Zhang, Chunming Xu, Zhichang Liu , Yadong Wang, Qiang Guo
State Key Laboratory of Heavy Oil Processing, China University of Petroleum, Beijing 102249, China

a r t i c l e

i n f o

Article history:
Received 11 March 2013
Received in revised form 10 June 2013
Accepted 11 June 2013
Available online 2 July 2013
Keywords:
Catalytic conversion
Butene
Butane
Cracking
Propene
Aromatics

a b s t r a c t
The catalytic conversion of the C4 fraction from a uid catalytic cracking (FCC) unit over a commercial FCC equilibrium catalyst was investigated using a conned uidized bed reactor system. Butenes were easier to convert
than butanes, and 1-butene was the easiest to convert among the butene isomers. The ethene and propene yields
increased with increased reaction temperature and decreased with increased weight hourly space velocity
(WHSV). The formation of propene involved two successive steps: butene dimerization and large hydrocarbon
cracking. Aromatics were formed by the aromatization of the intermediate large olens. A mechanism parameter
RCA was proposed to describe the relative function of the cracking reaction to the aromatization reaction. RCA
increased with increased reaction temperature and decreased with increased WHSV. The cracking reaction
predominates on the aromatization reaction at high reaction temperatures.
2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

1. Introduction
Light olens (ethene and propene) and light aromatics (benzene,
toluene, and xylene) are basic materials in the petrochemical industry.
Light olens are traditionally produced by the steam cracking/pyrolysis
of ethane, propane, butane, naphtha, light diesel, or heavier hydrocarbons [1,2]. However, the steam pyrolysis process requires high reaction
temperatures and consumes large amounts of energy. Light aromatics
are traditionally produced by the catalytic reforming of naphtha. However, naphtha is in short supply in some regions, such as China, Korea,
and Japan.
Fluid catalytic cracking (FCC) is another important process for
propene production. The introduction of co-catalysts such as conventional ZSM-5, mesoporous ZSM-5, TNU-9, and SSZ-33 zeolite to a commercial equilibrium FCC catalyst can enhance the propene yield [3,4].
High yields of ethene and propene (>60 wt.%) have been achieved
when C4+ olens were cracked over hybrid catalysts at 610 C to
640 C [5].
The C4 fraction is an important fraction of FCC. C4 hydrocarbons
can potentially be used for producing light olens and light aromatics.
The catalytic conversion of C4 hydrocarbons offers an alternative to
steam cracking to produce light olens and aromatics.
The conversion of C4 hydrocarbons to light olens is attracting
considerable research interest. Butene is relatively easier to convert
Corresponding author at: State Key Laboratory of Heavy Oil Processing, China University
of Petroleum, Changping District, Beijing 102249, China. Tel.: +86 10 8973 1252 (ofce);
fax: +86 10 6972 4721.
E-mail address: lzch@cup.edu.cn (Z. Liu).
0378-3820/$ see front matter 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.fuproc.2013.06.002

than butane [6,7]. Catalysts play an important role in converting C4

fractions to propene. The porous structure and acidity of zeolites are
key to their catalytic performance during the butene cracking process.
Small pores and high Si/Al ratio of zeolites benet the production of
propene and ethene [8]. HZSM-48 zeolites, particularly those with low
Si/Al ratios, exhibit better selectivity for propene than HZSM-5 zeolites
[9]. P-modied HZSM-5 zeolites exhibit high propene selectivity and
excellent anti-coking ability in the catalytic conversion of butene [10].
Yang et al. reported the catalytic cracking of 1-butene over HMCM-49
zeolite. At a reaction temperature of 580 C and a weight hourly space
velocity (WHSV) of 9.4 h1, 1-butene conversion reached 90.82%, and
the total selectivity of propene plus ethene reached 51.38% [11].
For the catalytic cracking of n-butane, the yields of ethene and
propene over alkaline-earth-modied HZSM-5 were higher than those
over non-modied HZSM-5 [12]. ZSM-23 zeolite is an efcient and
stable catalyst for the catalytic cracking of butanes, resulting in ethene
and propene yields exceeding 50 wt.%, and about 90% conversion at a
reaction temperature of 600 C [13]. P-modied HZSM-5 zeolite also
shows positive catalytic performance in the cracking of butanes, with
propene and ethene yields reaching 25.6 wt.% and 33.9 wt.%, respectively,
at a reaction temperature of 650 C [14].
The aromatization of butane and butene is also a research hotspot.
n-Butane is generally cracked over HZSM-5, whereas aromatic production is signicantly enhanced when Mo2C is loaded onto HZSM-5 [15].
The introduction of Mo2C into ZSM-5 remarkably enhances the aromatization of n-butane, and the selectivity of the aromatics reaches 34.5% at a
conversion rate of 68.9% [16]. Mo2C/ZSM-5 is also an efcient catalyst
for the aromatization of 1-butene, and the yield of aromatics reaches
40.6 wt.% at a conversion rate of 98.0% [17]. Methane, ethane, ethene,

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X. Meng et al. / Fuel Processing Technology 116 (2013) 217221

propene, and hydrogen are the primary products, and aromatics are
formed during a secondary process, namely, the oligomerization and
aromatization of butenes [17].
The C4 fractions are traditionally used as liqueed petroleum gas
(LPG). The market demand for LPG becomes weak as natural gas plays
more and more important role in the domestic fuel. Therefore, efciently
converting the C4 fraction has become an urgent problem. Lu et al.
proposed a method of converting n-butene into propene, i-butene,
i-butane, and gasoline on spent FCC catalyst in the stripper part. As
shown in simulation tests, high temperature and low WHSV favor the
formation of propene, i-butene, and i-butane, and the propene yield
reaches 10.22 wt.% at a reaction temperature of 500 C and a WHSV of
1.44 h1 [18]. Another possible method of efcient conversion of C4
fraction is to recirculate the C4 fraction to the FCC riser, where catalytic
conversion reactions occur. This process has the advantages of low
cost, easy operation, and high propene production.
This study investigated the catalytic conversion of the C4 fraction
from an FCC unit, as well as the inuence of reaction temperature
and WHSV on conversion and product yield. The main reactions and
reaction pathways of C4 fraction catalytic conversion were discussed
based on the above factors.
2. Experimental
2.1. Feedstock and catalyst
The C4 fraction collected from the FCC unit of a petrochemical company was used as the feed. The components of the C4 fraction are listed
in Table 1. The contents of butenes (1-butene, 2-butene, and i-butene)
and butanes (n-butane and i-butane) were 53.62 wt.% and 45.10 wt.%,
respectively. A commercial FCC equilibrium catalyst was used. The
physical properties and particle size distribution of the catalyst are
listed in Table 2.
2.2. Apparatus
The experiment was conducted in a uidized bed reactor with a lter on the bed top to prevent the catalyst from escaping. A diagram of
the apparatus is shown in Fig. 1. The apparatus consists of ve sections:
oil and steam input mechanisms, a reaction zone, a temperature control
system, and a product separation and collection system.
The experiments were conducted in batch mode. For each experiment, 60 g of catalyst was loaded into the reactor with an effective volume of approximately 580 mL. Distilled water was then pumped into
the steam furnace to form the steam used to uidize the catalyst in the
reactor. High-pressure nitrogen was injected into the C4 feed tank and
C4 buffer tank to keep the feedstock in a liquid state. A specic amount
of C4 feed was transferred from the C4 feed tank to the C4 buffer tank
by a pressure difference. An electronic balance under the C4 buffer tank

Table 2
Properties of the commercial FCC equilibrium catalyst.
Item

Value

Micro-activity index
Pore volume (cm3g1)
Surface area (m2g1)
Packing density (gcm3)
Coke content (wt.%)
Particle size distribution (wt.%)
020 m
2040 m
4080 m
80105 m
>105 m

60
0.22
88
0.91
0.04
0.8
16.2
54.6
15.8
12.6

was used to measure the mass of the C4 fraction fed into the reactor.
The C4 feed was then pumped and mixed with the steam. The mixture
was heated to approximately 350 C in a preheater and then fed into
the reactor. The reactions occurred as the feed made contact with the uidized catalyst. After reaction, the oil gas was cooled and separated into
gas and liquid samples. The spent catalyst was drawn out of the reactor
using a vacuum pump.
The experiments were conducted at various reaction temperatures between 400 and 700 C, various WHSVs from 1 h1 to 9 h1,
and a steam ow rate of about 10 wt.% of the C4 fraction.

2.3. Analytical methods

A renery gas analyzer (an Agilent 6890 gas chromatograph with
a hydrogen ame ionization detector and a thermal conductivity
detector) was used to measure the volume percentage of the components in the gas sample. The equation of state for an ideal gas was
used to convert the data into mass percentages. A gasoline component
analyzer (another Agilent 6890 gas chromatograph) was used to determine the weight percentages of the components in the liquid sample.
The coke content of the spent catalyst was measured using a selfmade coke analyzer, which included a combustion chamber, a thermal
conductivity detector, and a signal transfer system. Coke was burned in
an oxygen atmosphere inside a combustion chamber to form carbon
dioxide, which was detected using a thermal conductivity detector. Software was used to calculate the coke content on the spent catalyst sample
by comparing the peak area of carbon dioxide inside the combustion
chamber and the mass of the spent catalyst sample with those of a catalyst sample with known coke content.

10

N2

19

8
15
Table 1
Components in the C4 feed (wt.%).

Component

Content

Propane
Propene
i-Butane
n-Butane
2-Butene
1-Butene
i-Butene
C5+
Total
Butanes
Butenes
C4 hydrocarbons

0.35
0.39
35.84
9.26
22.28
12.86
18.48
0.54
100
45.10
53.62
98.72

11

12
2
1

16

13
14

17

18

Fig. 1. Experimental setup (1 water tank, 2 lter, 3 water pump, 4 steam furnace, 5
C4 feed tank, 6 electronic balance, 7 C4 buffer tank, 8 constant-pressure nitrogen, 9
C4 feed pump, 10 counterbalance valve, 11 preheater, 12 thermocouple, 13
reactor, 14 heater, 15 entrance and exit of catalyst, 16 condenser, 17 liquid
product sampler, 18 wet gas ow meter, and 19 gas sample bag).

X. Meng et al. / Fuel Processing Technology 116 (2013) 217221

25

i-butane
2-butene
i-butene

60

Yields of olefins and aromatics (wt%)

Conversion of C4 components (%)

80

n-butane
1-butene
C4

40

20

-20

219

20

15

10

0
400

450

500

550

600

650

WHSV: 3 h-1
ethene
propene
aromatics

700

400

450

500

550

600

650

700

Reaction temperature (oC)

Reaction temperature (oC)

Fig. 2. Conversion of C4 components as a function of reaction temperature at a WHSV
of 3 h1.

Fig. 3. Yields of ethene, propene and aromatics as a function of reaction temperature.

and aromatics as a function of reaction temperature. The yields of

ethene and propene slightly increased below 600 C, and then signicantly increased above 600 C. The yield of the aromatics slightly increased with increased reaction temperature from 400 C to 550 C,
and then varied slightly with increased reaction temperature from
550 C to 700 C.

3. Reaction performance of the catalytic conversion of the

C4 fraction
3.1. Effects of reaction temperature
The effects of reaction temperature on the conversion and product
yield were investigated by xing the WHSV at 3 h1. Fig. 2 shows the
conversion of C4 components as a function of reaction temperature. The
conversion of the C4 components slightly increased with increased reaction temperature from 400 C to 600 C, and it remarkably increased
with increased reaction temperature from 600 C to 700 C. Below
600 C, 1-butene had the highest conversion among the butene isomers,
showing that 1-butene was easier to convert than i-butene and 2-butene.
Butane conversion below 550 C was negative, indicating that butane
was formed under the experimental conditions. Butane may be formed
in two ways, i.e., through the hydrogen transfer of butenes or the cracking
of parafns in liquid components.
The product yields are listed in Table 3. By increasing the reaction
temperature from 400 C to 700 C, the yields of dry gas, C3
(propene and propane), and coke increased, whereas those of the
liquid (hydrocarbons with carbon number higher than four) decreased. The butenes underwent dimerization and formed liquid
components on the FCC equilibrium catalyst. The so-formed liquid
components further underwent cracking, cyclization, hydrogen
transfer, aromatization, and condensation reactions [6]. The cracking
reaction is endothermic, whereas cyclization, hydrogen transfer, and
aromatization are exothermic. Thus, high reaction temperatures
enhance the cracking reactions of the formed liquid components.
Accordingly, the yield of liquid decreased with increased reaction
temperature, whereas the dry gas and C3 yields increased. High reaction
temperature also accelerates the rate of condensation reactions by
which coke is generated. Thus, the coke yield increased with increased
reaction temperature.
Light olens and aromatics are the desired products in the catalytic
conversion of the C4 fraction. Fig. 3 shows the yields of ethene, propene

Reactions such as dimerization, hydrogen transfer, isomerization,

cyclization, aromatization, cracking, and condensation occur during
the catalytic conversion of the C4 fraction. Fig. 2 shows that the conversion of butanes was almost zero or negative at low reaction temperatures (b 600 C), indicating that butanes were produced under the
experimental conditions. The cracking reaction of butanes occurred at
high reaction temperatures (>600 C).
Butenes are the predominant reactants during catalytic conversion.
Fig. 5 illustrates the reaction network of the C4 fraction catalytic conversion. Butenes can be converted into butanes through hydrogen transfer,
into octenes through dimerization, or into other large olens through
polymerization with propene or ethene. Octenes can undergo further
isomerization to produce multi-branched octenes, hydrogen transfer

Table 3
Product yield as a function of reaction temperature at a WHSV of 3 h1 (wt.%).

Table 4
Product yield as a function of WHSV at a reaction temperature of 700 C (wt.%).

3.2. Effects of WHSV

The effects of WHSV on the conversion and product yields were investigated by xing the reaction temperature at 700 C. Table 4 lists the
product yields as a function of WHSV. With increased WHSV from
1 h 1 to 9 h 1, the yields of dry gas, C3, liquid, and coke decreased.
A low WHSV results in a long reaction time, which leads to a high
conversion of the C4 feed. Hence, low WHSV favors the conversion
of the C4 fraction. Fig. 4 shows the yields of ethene, propene and aromatics as a function of WHSV. The yields of ethene and propene decreased with increased WHSV, showing that low WHSV favors the
production of ethene and propene. The aromatic yield was nearly constant with increased WHSV at a reaction temperature of 700 C.
4. Reaction pathways of the catalytic conversion of the C4 fraction

Reaction temperature (C)

400

450

500

550

600

650

700

WHSV (h1)

Dry gas
C3
C4
Liquid
Coke

0.03
2.80
84.01
12.47
0.69

0.21
3.81
83.76
11.37
0.85

0.45
4.64
82.81
10.98
1.12

0.63
6.12
81.91
10.06
1.28

1.29
8.22
79.70
9.43
1.36

4.62
15.86
68.47
9.16
1.89

12.58
26.64
48.66
8.84
3.28

Dry gas
C3
C4
Liquid
Coke

14.05
28.39
45.10
8.85
3.61

12.58
26.64
48.66
8.84
3.28

11.62
26.07
50.16
9.06
3.09

11.34
25.38
51.24
9.24
2.80

10.97
24.84
52.06
9.45
2.68

220

X. Meng et al. / Fuel Processing Technology 116 (2013) 217221

0.5

Yield ratio of dry gas to C3

Yields of olefins and aromatics (wt%)

25

20

700 oC
ethene
propene
aromatics

15

10

0.4

WHSV: 3 h-1

0.3

0.2

0.1

0.0

10

400

450

500

550

600

650

700

Reaction temperature (oC)

Weight hourly space velocity (h-1)

Fig. 4. Yields of ethene, propene and aromatics as a function of WHSV.

Fig. 6. Yield ratio of dry gas to C3 as a function of reaction temperature.

to produce octanes, aromatization to produce aromatics, cyclization to

produce naphthenes, cracking to produce propene or butenes, or polymerization with olens to produce larger olens. Octanes can undergo
cracking to produce light olens and light alkanes. Aromatics can
undergo condensation to produce polycyclic aromatics. Intermediate
large olens can undergo aromatization to produce aromatics, and polymerization to produce polymers. Polymers and polycyclic aromatics
are nally converted into coke.
The above analysis shows that the formation of propene involves
two successive steps: the dimerization of butenes and the cracking of
large hydrocarbons [6]. The formed olens can polymerize with butene
to produce other larger olens that can undergo all of the aforementioned reactions, resulting in a wide variety of end products.
Both catalytic and thermal functions play roles in the catalytic
conversion of the C4 fraction. Dry gas is generally formed through
thermal cracking. C3 is generally formed through catalytic cracking
at low temperatures, while it is formed through both catalytic cracking and thermal cracking at high temperatures [19,20]. The yield ratio
of dry gas to C3 was proposed to describe the relative function of
thermal cracking to catalytic cracking. Fig. 6 shows the yield ratio of
dry gas to C3 as a function of reaction temperature. The yield ratio
of dry gas to C3 is below 0.11 when the reaction temperature is
below 550 C. This result shows that catalytic cracking plays an important role at low reaction temperatures (b550 C). The yield ratio
of dry gas to C3 increases from 0.16 at 600 C to 0.47 at 700 C,
indicating that both catalytic and thermal cracking play important
roles at high reaction temperatures (> 600 C).

Cracking and aromatization reactions simultaneously occur during

the catalytic conversion of the C4 fraction. Light products (dry gas and
C3) are formed by cracking reactions, and aromatics are formed by
aromatization reactions. A yield ratio of dry gas plus C3 to aromatics
[RCA, shown in Eq. (1)] was proposed to describe the relative function
of the cracking reaction to the aromatization reaction.

RCA

ydry gas yC3

:
yaromatics

A large RCA indicates that the cracking reaction is important in the

catalytic conversion of the C4 fraction, whereas a small RCA indicates
that the aromatization reaction is signicant. Fig. 7 shows RCA as a
function of reaction temperature at a WHSV of 3 h1. With increased
reaction temperature from 400 C to 600 C, RCA gradually increased
from 0.73 to 1.33, indicating the importance of both cracking and aromatization reactions. RCA reached 2.77 at 650 C and 5.23 at 700 C,
indicating that cracking predominates on aromatization at high reaction temperatures. Fig. 7 also shows RCA as a function of WHSV at a reaction temperature of 700 C. RCA decreased with increased WHSV,
indicating that low WHSV favors cracking. RCA at a WHSV of 1 h1
was about 0.16 times higher than that at a WHSV of 9 h1, indicating
that low WHSV strengthens the cracking function.

Weight hourly space velocity (h-1)

6

3
C4o

C8o

1
2

C4=

C2=, C3=, C4=, C5=, C6=...

6
naphthenes

WHSV: 3 h-1

C12=
2

oligomers

700 oC

C8=

RCA

C2=, C3=

coke

aromatics

Fig. 5. Reaction network of C4 fraction catalytic conversion (1 hydrogen transfer reaction, 2 polymerization reaction, 3 cracking reaction, 4 aromatization reaction,
5 cyclization reaction, 6 condensation reaction).

400

450

500

550

600

650

Reaction temperature (oC)

Fig. 7. RCA as a function of reaction temperature and WHSV.

700

X. Meng et al. / Fuel Processing Technology 116 (2013) 217221

5. Conclusions
Butenes were easier to convert than butanes on commercial FCC
equilibrium catalysts. High reaction temperature and low WHSV favored
the production of ethene, propene, and aromatics. Butenes initially
underwent dimerization into large olens, which then underwent cracking to produce propene and aromatization to produce aromatics. A yield
ratio of dry gas to C3 was proposed to describe the relative function of
thermal cracking to catalytic cracking. This ratio increased with increased reaction temperature, and the importance of thermal cracking
increased at high temperatures. A yield ratio of dry gas plus C3 to aromatics (RCA) was proposed to describe the relative function of cracking
reaction to aromatization reaction. RCA increased with increased reaction
temperature and decreased with increased WHSV. High reaction temperature and low WHSV favor cracking reaction.
Acknowledgment
Financial support was provided by the National Basic Research
Program of China (973 Program, No. 2012CB215001), the Program for
New Century Excellent Talents in University of China (NCET-12-0970),
and the Science Foundation of China University of Petroleum, Beijing
(Nos. KYJJ2012-03-23 and KYJJ2012-03-25).
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