INFLUENCE OF ORGANIC ACIDS ON THE REACTIVATION OF NiMo/Al₂O₃ CATALYSTS FOR THE HYDRODESULFURIZATION OF DIBENZOTHIOPHENE
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.15665/wca0wy43Abstract
This study evaluated the reactivation of NiMo/Al₂O₃ catalysts for the hydrodesulfurization (HDS) of dibenzothiophene (DBT) using EDTA and glutamic acid as chelating treatments. The catalyst treated with glutamic acid exhibited the highest specific surface area (159 m²/g) and pore volume (0.298 cm³/g), favoring reactant transport. The EDTA-treated catalyst showed lower values (97 m²/g and 0.229 cm³/g), but with higher microporosity (18 m²/g), enhancing internal accessibility. The regenerated catalyst had a surface area of 251 m²/g and pore volume of 0.249 cm³/g. HRTEM analysis revealed better MoS₂ dispersion in the chelated samples: average stacking numbers were N = 2.30 (EDTA) and N = 2.63 (glutamic acid), compared to N = 3.36 for the regenerated catalyst. Dispersion (D) was also higher for EDTA (0.41) than for the regenerated sample (0.27). In catalytic activity, NiMo/Al₂O₃-(EDTA) achieved the highest DBT conversion (83%) and selectivity towards the direct desulfurization (DDS) route (81.3%), followed by the glutamic acid-treated catalyst (29%, 79.9%) and the regenerated one (41%, 63.7%). The spent catalyst only reached 27% conversion and 58.3% DDS selectivity. These results demonstrate that chelating treatments enhance textural and structural properties, promoting better MoS₂ edge exposure and improving DDS and hydrogenation (HYD) pathways, thus boosting overall HDS performance.
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