Zeolites, the production thereof, and their uses for upgrading heavy oils

1. A method for making a mesoporous zeolite, the method comprising:

contacting an initial zeolite material with ammonium hexafluorosilicate in water to modify the framework of the initial zeolite material, forming a framework-modified zeolite material, the initial zeolite material comprising silica and alumina, and comprising an FAU framework type structure; and

forming mesopores in the framework-modified zeolite material.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the initial zeolite material comprises ammonium and sodium.

3. The method of claim 2 , wherein the initial zeolite material is formed by ion-exchanging a zeolite comprising sodium with ammonium.

4. The method of claim 1 , wherein forming the mesopores comprises:

combining the framework-modified zeolite material with one or more of a base or a surfactant cetrimonium bromide to form a mixture; and

heating the mixture to an elevated temperature for a heating time period to form the mesopores.

5. The method of any of claim 4 , wherein the elevated temperature is from 100° C. to 150° C. and the heating time period is from 1 to 5 days.

6. The method of any of claim 4 , wherein the base comprises an aqueous solution comprising one or more of NaO, KOH, or ammonium hydroxide.

7. The method of claim 1 , wherein the surfactant is cetrimonium bromide.

8. The method of claim 1 , wherein the separating comprises one or more of washing, drying, or calcining the nano-sized zeolite particles.

9. The method of claim 1 , wherein the ammonium hexafluorosilicate that contacts the initial zeolite is in an aqueous solution.

10. The method of claim 9 , wherein the ammonium hexafluorosilicate has a concentration of from 0.2M to 2.0M.

11. The method of claim 1 , further comprising separating the zeolite comprising mesopores from the other contents of the mixture.

12. The method of claim 1 , wherein the mesoporous zeolite has at least 90% crystallinity with respect to the initial zeolite.

13. A method of making a catalyst, the method comprising:

forming a mesoporous zeolite by a method comprising:

contacting an initial zeolite material with ammonium hexafluorosilicate in water to modify the framework of the initial zeolite material, forming a framework-modified zeolite material, the initial zeolite material comprising silica and alumina, and comprising an FAU framework type structure; and

forming mesopores in the framework-modified zeolite material to form a mesoporous zeolite; and

incorporating the mesoporous zeolite with a metal oxide support material and one or more metal catalyst materials to form the catalyst.

14. The method of claim 13 , wherein one or more of the metal catalyst materials comprise an oxide or sulfide of W, Mo, Ni, or Co.

15. The method of claim 13 , wherein the catalyst comprises an oxide or sulfide of W and an oxide or sulfide of Ni.

16. The method of claim 13 , wherein the catalyst comprises an oxide or sulfide of Mo and an oxide or sulfide of Ni.

17. The method of claim 13 , wherein the catalyst comprises:

from 20 wt. % to 26 wt. % of an oxide or sulfide of W;

from 4 wt. % to 6 wt. % of an oxide or sulfide of Ni;

from 10 wt. % to 60 wt. % of the mesoporous zeolite; and

from 10 wt. % to 70 wt. % of alumina.

18. The method of claim 13 , wherein the catalyst comprises:

from 14 wt. % to 16 wt. % of an oxide or sulfide of Mo;

from 4 wt. % to 6 wt. % of an oxide or sulfide of Ni;

from 10 wt. % to 60 wt. % of the mesoporous zeolite; and

from 20 wt. % to 80 wt. % of alumina.

19. The method of claim 13 , wherein the metal oxide support material comprises alumina.

20. The method of claim 13 , wherein the mesoporous zeolite has at least 90% crystallinity with respect to the initial zeolite.