Trash into treasure: Nano ZSM-5 catalyst for cracking waste cooking oil to bio-gasoline with enhanced selectivity

ZSM-5 is considered a suitable fluid catalytic cracking (FCC) catalyst to convert waste cooking oil into bio-gasoline. However, the obvious drawbacks for ZSM-5 are mass transfer limitations of the reaction substrate and high coke formation due to its special microporous structure. Here, a structural directing agent (SDA) is used to construct a new Nano ZSM-5. The obtained ideal FCC catalysts with more inserted interlayer mesopores and a larger surface area that can significantly enhance the diffusivity of big oil molecular and accessible active sites. After research, the new catalyst shows better catalytic performance than the conventional one, especially in improving the selectivity of bio-gasoline from 32.00% to 55.14%, and the yield of coke was also drastically reduced, which represents the top level in this area. This work demonstrates nano ZSM-5 zeolites as excellent FCC catalysts possess huge industrial potential in catalytic cracking waste cooking oil to obtain bio-gasoline.