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Breaks complex hydrocarbons into simpler molecules
- Catalytic cracking breaks complex hydrocarbons into simpler molecules in order to increase the quality and quantity of lighter, more desirable products and decrease the amount of residuals.
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Fluid catalytic cracking (FCC) is the conversion process used in petroleum refineries to convert the high-boiling point, high-molecular weight hydrocarbon fractions of petroleum (crude oils) into gasoline, alkene gases, and other petroleum products.
Catalytic cracking is the thermal decomposition of petroleum constituents in the presence of a catalyst (Pines, 1981). Naphtha produced by catalytic cracking is richer in branched paraffins, cycloparaffins, and aromatics, which all serve to increase the quality of the gasoline.
An important part of the refining process takes place in the facility's fluid catalytic cracker or FCC unit. In the FCC unit, heavy hydrocarbons from crude oil are broken or cracked into smaller hydrocarbons, which can then be processed into gasoline and other fuel products.
Petroleum refining - Catalytic Cracking, Fractional Distillation, Hydroprocessing: The use of thermal cracking units to convert gas oils into naphtha dates from before 1920. These units produced small quantities of unstable naphthas and large amounts of by-product coke.
Essentially, catalytic cracking involves the rupture of C-C bonds in heavy hydrocarbon feeds such as vacuum gas oils and residues to produce more valuable lower molecular weight hydrocarbons, including diesel, gasoline, and light olefins for petrochemistry.
Chemistry of Catalytic Cracking. As opposed to thermal cracking governed by free radicals, catalytic cracking proceeds through the formation of ionic species on catalyst surfaces, and produces shorter, but branched-chain (not straight-chain) alkanes by cracking the long straight-chain alkanes.
Catalytic cracking is the most widely used process for converting high-boiling-point hydrocarbons into molecular compounds boiling in the transportation fuel boiling range. A typical barrel of crude oil charged to U.S. refineries contains about 20% gasoline boiling range material.
