Effect of Mesostructured Zirconia Support on the Activity and Selectivity of 4,6-Dimethydibenzothiophene Hydrodesulfurization

Sylvette Brunet,Séverinne Rigolet,Magali Bonne,Jean Dominique Comparot,Issam Naboulsi,Claire Marichal,Laure Michelin,Bénédicte Lebeau,Jean-Luc Blin

doi:10.3390/catal10101162

Abstract

In contrast with the conventional CoMoS/alumina catalyst, the use of amorphous mesostructured ZrO2 as support for the dispersion of the CoMoS active phase in deep hydrodesulfurization (HDS) of 4,6-dimethyldibenzothiophene led to a higher promotion rate and a better sulfidation of the cobalt species. The CoMoS, dispersed over mesostructured amorphous ZrO2 as catalyst, also induced a modification of the main desulfurization way; in this case, a shift towards direct desulfurization selectivity was observed. This result was unexpected regarding the literature. Indeed, the hydrogenated route was observed for commercial zirconia. The designed catalysts are therefore more eco-friendly, since they consume less hydrogen. This implies a better use of the fossil resources.

Highlights

Because it can cause health problems, air quality in cities is a major issue; the latter is affected by atmospheric pollution to which the gas emissions from vehicles contribute in a significant way, in particular by the emission of sulfur oxides
By comparison with conventional catalysts, we have shown that a change of selectivity for the hydrodesulfurization (HDS) of 46DMDBT is obtained when the active phase is dispersed on mesostructured titania [20]
Before sulfidation was used to get to the active phase, the support was impregnated with cobalt and molybdenum precursors

Summary

Introduction

Because it can cause health problems (cancer, etc.), air quality in cities is a major issue; the latter is affected by atmospheric pollution to which the gas emissions from vehicles contribute in a significant way, in particular by the emission of sulfur oxides. In order to limit this impact, standards have been fixed to have fuels that are more respectful of the environment. In Europe since 2009, the maximum sulfur content is limited to 10 ppm [1]. Considering the increase in consumption of fuels, in particular in emerging countries, and the diversity of the origin of the raw material (mainly from fossil material, and from lipidic or lignocellulosic biomass in a less extent), the hydrotreatment processes have a great interest. It is admitted that 4,6-dimethydibenzothiophene (46DMDBT) is the most representative compound of the most refractory sulfated molecules [2,3,4,5].

Methods

Results

Conclusion