The present invention provides a process for the catalytic
cracking of an olefin-rich feedstock which is selective towards light olefins in the
effluent, the process comprising contacting a
hydrocarbon feedstock containing one or more olefins, with a catalyst made of a
phosphorus-
modified zeolite (A), to produce an
effluent with an olefin content of lower molecular weight than that of the feedstock, wherein said phosphorous
modified zeolite (A) is made by a process comprising in that order:selecting a
zeolite with low Si / Al ratio (advantageously lower than 30) among H+ or NH4+-form of MFI, MEL, FER, MOR,
clinoptilolite, said
zeolite having been made preferably without direct addition of organic template;
steaming at a temperature
ranging from 400 to 870° C. for 0.01-200 h;leaching with an aqueous acid solution containing the source of P at conditions effective to remove a substantial part of Al from the
zeolite and to introduce at least 0.3 wt % of P;separation of the
solid from the liquid;an optional washing step or an optional
drying step or an optional
drying step followed by a washing step;a
calcination step.Said
cracking of an olefin-rich feedstock is often referred in the following description and claims as OCP (Olefin
Cracking Process).The catalyst made of a P-
modified zeolite (A) can be the P-modified zeolite (A) itself or it can be the P-modified zeolite (A) formulated into a catalyst by combining with other materials that provide additional
hardness or catalytic activity to the finished catalyst product.The zeolite with low Si / Al ratio has been made previously with or without direct addition of an organic template. The zeolite can be made with the help of seeds techniques but without template, the seeds could have been made with a template which means that the zeolite is made without direct addition of a template.