Fluid catalytic cracking (FCC) is a critical process in the petroleum-refining industry, designed to break down large hydrocarbon molecules into smaller, more valuable products. Fluid-cracking catalyst accessibility dramatically influences the efficiency of the FCC process. Accessibility is a catalyst feature related to the ease with which large feedstock molecules can penetrate the catalyst particle to reach the internal active sites where reactions occur—and the ease with which products desorb and leave the catalyst. Accessibility plays a vital role in the activity, selectivity, and life of the catalyst, and various techniques can be applied during the manufacturing process to accomplish its increase. This work reviews FCC catalyst accessibility, its characterization, and the ways to increase it, covering the past three decades of technical paper and patent literature. Bibliometric results of a literature search are presented, and a search strategy is described, encompassing database identification, keyword selection, refinement terms, search criteria, and result evaluation.

This study evaluates the incorporation of lanthanum into zeolites Y, Beta, and ZSM‐5 to promote the desulfurization of a gasoline stream directly in the riser of a fluid catalytic cracking (FCC) process. The catalysts were prepared using wet impregnation and characterized by X‐ray diffraction (XRD) (crystallinity and phase integrity), XRF (La content and Si/Al ratio), X‐ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), solid state nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) of ² ⁹Si and ² ⁷Al, N ₂ adsorption, high‐resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM), temperature‐programmed desorption of ammonia (TPD‐NH ₃ ), Fourier‐transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), and pyridine chemisorbed FTIR (FTIR‐Py). Catalytic tests were conducted in a tubular reactor, using a mixture of cyclohexane and thiophene (20000 ppm) at 773 K and 1.3 atm. Catalytic activity was assessed in a fixed‐bed reactor using a cyclohexane/thiophene feed, and product selectivities were quantified by gas chromatography with flame ionization and sulfur chemiluminescence detectors. The addition of lanthanum altered the acidity of the catalysts, reducing the total density of acid sites while increasing the strength of Lewis acid sites. The protonated zeolites, particularly HY, facilitated sulfur removal, achieving a 91% selectivity for H ₂ S through secondary hydrogen transfer reactions. In contrast, the lanthanum‐modified zeolites enhanced thiophene alkylation and condensation reactions, as evidenced by the selectivity observed in La/BEA and La/ZSM‐5, which reached 15%. The results indicated that incorporating lanthanum changes the desulfurization profile, making the catalysts more selective for forming higher molecular weight sulfur compounds, thereby shifting the products toward the FCC diesel range. The modulation of acidity and structural accessibility of the zeolites proves crucial in converting sulfur compounds into H ₂ S or heavy sulfur compounds in the FCC riser, leading to a reduction in the sulfur content of the gasoline fraction, which is economically advantageous.

Monocyclic aromatic hydrocarbons and olefins, important petrochemical feedstocks, can be produced via catalytic pyrolysis of lignocellulosic biomass, providing a sustainable route for the valorization of agro-industrial residues. In this context, initial insights are presented into the use of commercial catalysts typically employed in fluid catalytic cracking (FCC) to upgrade pyrolysis vapors from Agave sisalana (sisal) bagasse toward the selective production of monocyclic aromatic hydrocarbons and olefins. To assess this approach, analytical pyrolysis combined with gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (Py-GC/MS) was employed to compare the thermal decomposition of sisal bagasse in the presence of three different commercial FCC catalysts. In the absence of a catalyst, pyrolysis vapors consisted predominantly of undesired oxygenated and nitrogenated compounds, which accounted for 71.73% of the total. In contrast, all FCC catalysts promoted effective deoxygenation, reducing the oxygenate content to as low as 18.33% (FCC-2248), while simultaneously achieving complete denitrogenation. Catalytic pyrolysis with FCC catalysts yielded upgraded vapors containing over 81.66% hydrocarbons, significantly surpassing the 28.24% observed under the catalyst-free condition. The use of the commercial FCC catalyst favored the formation of hydrocarbons in the gasoline range (21-76%) and the green diesel range (15-50%), highlighting its effectiveness in catalytic pyrolysis for producing renewable components suitable for drop-in biofuel formulations. Also, high selectivity toward monocyclic aromatic hydrocarbons and olefins was achieved, reaching up to 43% and 24%, respectively. Selectivity toward BTEX compounds (benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene, and xylene) remained consistently high, with minimum values of 34%. These insights also demonstrate that FCC - 2110 yields a volatile fraction compliant with national and international gasoline standards, offering an efficient route to valorize sisal industry by-products. Beyond resource reuse and energy recovery, this process supports key SDGs, including affordable and clean energy (SDG 7), responsible consumption and production (SDG 12), and climate action (SDG 13).