Simultaneous hydrodesulfurization, hydrodeoxygenation, and hydrogenation with molybdenum carbide

• Published in: Applied catalysis. A, General Vol. 168; no. 2; pp. 219 - 228
• Main Authors: Dhandapani, B., St. Clair, T., Oyama, S.T.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Amsterdam Elsevier B.V 27-03-1998; Elsevier
• Subjects: Carbosulfide; Catalysis; Catalysts: preparations and properties; Chemistry; Cumene; Exact sciences and technology; General and physical chemistry; Hydrodeoxygenation; Hydrodesulfurization; Hydrogenation; Molybdenum carbide; Theory of reactions, general kinetics. Catalysis. Nomenclature, chemical documentation, computer chemistry; Cumene; Carbosulfide; Molybdenum carbide; Hydrodeoxygenation; Hydrogenation; Hydrodesulfurization; Characterization; Heterogeneous catalysis; Chemisorption; Molybdenum Carbides; Deoxygenation; Photoelectron spectrometry; Experimental study; X ray diffraction
• ISSN: 0926-860X; 1873-3875
• DOI: 10.1016/S0926-860X(97)00342-6

Simultaneous hydrodesulfurization (HDS), hydrodeoxygenation (HDO), and hydrogenation (HYD) of model compounds were studied under high pressure conditions with a β-Mo
2C catalyst. The β-Mo
2C (hexagonal close packed) was synthesized by the temperature programmed reaction and characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), CO chemisorption, and BET surface area measurements. Simultaneous HDS, HDO, and HYD were observed with minimal deactivation of Mo
2C for up to 30
ppm of sulfur, 2000
ppm of oxygen, and 5 wt % cumene for more than 80
h. A noble metal catalyst (Pt/γ-Al
2O
3) deactivated immediately upon addition of sulfur. The reactivity results on β-Mo
2C indicate there are two types of sites on the surface when simultaneous HDS, HYD and HDO are occurring. The first type of site is a molybdenum carbide site which is active for HYD and HDO. The second site is a molybdenum carbosulfide site which is active for HYD, HDS, and HDO. The results of this study may be applied not only to the refining of petroleum feedstocks, but also to the upgrading of synthetic fuels such as coal-derived liquids.