The hydrocracking reaction, scission of carbon-to-carbon bonds plus hydrogenation, was investigated, using n-hexane and cyclohexane as reactants. Two crystalline aluminosilicate catalysts were studied: the hydrogen, or acid, form of synthetic faujasite and mordenite. Both catalysts were extremely active for hydrocracking. Integral reactor data were correlated using a conventional Langmuir-Hinshelwood model. The reaction rate constant was found to be an Arrhenius function of temperature with activation energies comparable to catalysts with much larger pore diameters. The model was first-order with respect to the hydrocarbon, and the effect of increasing the hydrogen partial pressure was compatible with a “dual-site” mechanism. Typical reaction conditions were 500° to 800° F., 750 p.s.i.g., 10 moles of hydrogen per mole of hydrocarbon reactant, and liquid hourly space velocities of 1 to 8. © 1969, American Chemical Society. All rights reserved.
