Influence of activation temperature on structural and textural properties of CoMo/Al<inf>2</inf>O<inf>3</inf> hydrodesulfurization catalyst

Abstract

Investigations of a commercial CoMo/Al2O3 hydrodesulfurization (HDS) catalyst are directed towards optimization of activation procedure of HDS catalyst concerning its active phase formation and its thermal stability. Optimization of COMO/A12O3 catalyst properties leads to improvement of its performances varying process parameters without additional investments in equipment or catalyst replacement. Using this catalyst in conventional HDS plants, diesel with less than 50 ppm of sulfur may be achieved. The most critical step in experiments toward attainment of optimal catalytic performances is catalyst activation procedure. The object of this paper is optimization of the activation procedure by varying the activation temperature, important for formation and modification of active structure and optimal catalyst texture. Structural and textural data obtained by XRD, IR-FTIR, XPS and LTNA reveal that the optimal temperature is 300°C for the formation of active species on catalyst surface and an appropriate pore structure in catalyst bulk.