Abstract: The high-value utilization of light cycle oil (LCO) and surplus diesel production capacity is of great significance for saving precious petroleum resources and improving the refining benefits. With developing new catalytic materials, optimizing metal systems and improving preparation methods, two special LCO hydro- conversion catalysts RIC-3 and RHC-100 were developed, which could convert LCO to clean diesel components and high octane gasoline, respectively. Focused on enhancing the suitability of the LCO hydro-conversion between catalyst properties and requirements of target reaction processes, such as hydrogenation of aromatic ring, ring opening of naphthenic ring, cracking of alkyl cyclic hydrocarbons and polymerization aromatics, the catalyst precision design platform was designed and constructed to improve the effectiveness, orientation and efficiency of catalyst, and the catalyst family with RIC-3 and RHC-100 as the core was formed to target the ring-opening and cracking reactions of PAHs. The results of commercial applications showed that the performance of LCO hydro-conversion, the selectivity of the target products, as well as the directional utilization of H2 were improved. Furthermore, the construction of the catalyst precision design platform and catalyst family will provide reference for LCO hydro-conversion to produce BTX.

Key words: catalytic cracking, LCO, hydrogenation upgrading, hydrocracking, tetralin, ring opening reaction, cracking