Hydrodesulfurization of 4,6-dimethyldibenzothiophene over NiMo supported on Ga-modified Y zeolites catalysts

Interplay Between Ni and Brønsted and Lewis Acid Sites in the Hydrodesulfurization of Dibenzothiophene

Ni-MoS2/γ-Al2O3 catalysts are commonly used in hydrotreating to enhance fossil fuel quality. The extensive research on these catalysts reveals a gap in understanding the role of Ni, often underestimated as an inactive sulfide phase or just a MoS2 promoter. In this work, we focused on analyzing whether well-dispersed supported nickel nanoparticles can be active in the hydrodesulfurization of dibenzothiophene. We dispersed Ni by Strong Electrostatic Adsorption (SEA) method across four supports with different types of acidity: silica (~ neutral acidity), γ-Al2O3 (Lewis acidity), H+-Y zeolite, and microporous-mesoporous H+-Y zeolite (both with Brønsted-Lewis acidity). Our findings reveal that Ni is indeed active in dibenzothiophene hydrodesulfurization, even with alumina and silica as supports, although their catalytic activity declines abruptly in the first hours. Contrastingly, the acid nature of zeolites imparts sustained stability and performance, attributed to robust metal-support interactions. The efficacy of the SEA method and the added mesoporosity in zeolites further amplify catalytic efficiency. Overall, we demonstrate that Ni nanoparticles may perform as a hydrogenating metal in the same manner as noble metals such as Pt and Pd perform in hydrodesulfurization. We discuss some of the probable reasons for such performance and remark on the role of Ni in hydrotreatment.

Scale-up reactivation of spent S-Zorb adsorbents for gasoline desulfurization

Reactivating and recycling spent S-Zorb adsorbents reduce fresh adsorbents consumption and hazardous wastes emissions. Though the spent adsorbents have been successfully reactivated in the laboratory, a pilot-scale practice is indispensable before the industrial production. Herein, the reactivation of spent adsorbents was performed at laboratory (1.0 L), middle (10 L) and pilot (3000 L) scale, respectively. The inert Zn₂SiO₄ and ZnS over the spent adsorbents are recovered to active ZnO, and the NiS is transformed into NiO. There is almost no amplification effect in pore structure and acidity of the reactivated adsorbents, while NiO particle size reduces slightly with the reactivation scales. The computational fluid dynamic simulation indicates that enhanced contact between spent adsorbents and acid/alkaline reagents at larger scale account for the smaller NiO particle. It provides more hydrogenolysis centers for CS bonds breakage after reduction, increasing initial desulfurization activity. More importantly, the adsorbent reactivated at pilot scale exhibits comparable activity to the fresh one in gasoline desulfurization. The sulfur content in the outlet decreases to less than 10 μg g^-1 from 1 h of reaction. Thus, the reactivation of spent S-Zorb adsorbents is successfully scaled up to the pilot scale, accelerating industrial practice in recycling the spent adsorbents.

A hierarchical ZSM-22/PHTS composite material and its hydro-isomerization performance in hydro-upgrading of gasoline

The ZSM-22/PHTS (ZP) composite material assembled from a ZSM-22 zeolite crystal displayed a mesoporous structure. The CoMo/ZPA120 catalyst presented a good balance between HDS activity (95.2%) and lower ΔRON (−1.1).

Structural Screening and Design of Dendritic Micro-Mesoporous Composites for Efficient Hydrodesulfurization of Dibenzothiophene and 4,6-Dimethyldibenzothiophene

Novel dendritic micro-mesoporous TS-1/dendritic mesoporous silica nanoparticle (DMSN) composites (TD) were assembled by TS-1 nanocrystals with ultrasmall particle size and strong acidity. TS-1 seeds and DMSNs were composited via the Ti-O-Si chemical bond, which stimulate the generation of Brønsted (B) and Lewis (L) acids. The spillover d-electrons produced by the Ti element of TS-1 seeds produced a spillover of d-electrons, which could interact with the surface of MoS₂ phases, thereby reducing Mo-S interactions and create sulfur vacancies that are favorable for dibenzothiophene (DBT) and 4,6-dimethyldibenzothiophene (4,6-DMDBT) hydrodesulfurization (HDS) reactions. The increased amount of B&L acid of NiMo/TD-2.0 with cetyltrimethylammonium bromide/sodium salicylate molar ratio of 2.0 played an important role in facilitating the hydrogenation (HYD) route of DBT HDS and the isomerization (ISO) route of 4,6-DMDBT HDS, which is more favorable for the reduction of steric hindrance of DBT and 4,6-DMDBT reactants in the HDS reaction process. The NiMo/TD-2.0 catalyst exhibited the highest turnover frequency (TOF) value and HDS reaction rate constant (k_HDS) of DBT and 4,6-DMDBT due to its ultrasmall particle size, uniform spherical dendritic morphology, strong B&L acidity, and good stacking degree.

The Influence of Pore Structure and Acidity on the Hydrodesulfurization of Dibenzothiophene over NiMo-Supported Catalysts

A series of mesoporous materials of SBA-16 were in situ incorporated into ZSM-5 crystallites via a two-step self-assemble method, and hydrodesulfurization (HDS) catalysts were prepared on the corresponding ZSM-5/SBA-16 (ZS) composites. The characterization results indicated that ZSM-5 nanoseeds were fabricated into the silica framework of the ZS composites, and the three-dimensional Im3m cubic structure of SBA-16 was retained simultaneously. In addition, the ZS series materials possessed open pores and large surfaces, which would facilitate the diffusion of reactants in the mesoporous channels. Moreover, the introduction of ZSM-5 seeds into composites could enhance the acidities of supports. As a result, the NiMo/ZS series catalysts exhibited high activities for DBT HDS processes. The NiMo/ZS-160 catalyst exhibited the highest catalytic efficiency (96.5%), which was apparently attributed to the synergistic contributions of the physicochemical properties of ZS supports and the dispersion states of active metals. Correspondingly, DBT HDS reactions over the NiMo/ZS series catalysts mainly proceeded via a hydrogenation desulfurization route that benefitted from the enhanced acidities especially the total Brønsted acid.