Drying of Ni/Alumina Catalysts: Control of the Metal Distribution Using Surfactants and the Melt Infiltration Method

Abstract

Supported catalysts are used in many industrial processes. The performance of a catalytic process is intimately related to the metal profile in the support, which is determined by the preparation conditions. In this work, the impact of two surfactants on the metal distribution of Ni/alumina catalysts was investigated. It was found that the surfactants can be used to reduce the effect of drying and help maintain the metal profiles established after impregnation. This capability is related to the surfactant concentration, the surfactant distribution in the support, the interaction between the surfactant and the metal ions, and the interaction between the surfactant and the support pore surface. Three contributions of surfactants are discussed in this paper, i.e., reducing solution surface tension, capturing the metal ions at the walls, and reducing the film breakage effect during drying. We also compared two preparation methods—impregnation and drying vs melt infiltration. Using the melt infiltration method...