Hydrotreating of Heavy Gas Oil Derived from Athabasca Bitumen Over Co–Mo/γ-Al2O3 Catalyst Prepared by Sonochemical Method

Abstract

Co–Mo/γ-Al2O3 oxide containing 9.8 wt% Mo and 2.9 wt% Co was prepared by high-intensity ultrasonic irradiation of Mo(CO)6, Co2(CO)8, and γ-Al2O3 in decahydronapthalene under air flow. The oxidic Co–Mo catalyst thus formed was characterized by elemental analysis, BET N2 adsorption and XRD. The surface sites on the sulfided Co–Mo/γ-Al2O3 catalyst were characterized by infrared spectroscopy of CO adsorption. Hydrodenitrogenation (HDN) and hydrodesulfurization (HDS) activities were evaluated for heavy gas oil derived from Athabasca bitumen in a trickle bed reaction system using the following conditions: temperatures ranging from 370 to 400 °C, a pressure of 8.8 MPa, a liquid hourly space velocity of 1 h−1, and a H2/feed ratio of 600 ml/ml. The dispersion, nature of active sites and hydrotreating activity of this catalyst were compared with the conventionally prepared Co–Mo/γ-Al2O3 catalyst containing similar wt% of Mo and Co. The Co–Mo catalyst prepared by sonochemical method has higher HDN and HDS rate constants than the conventional catalyst due to an improved dispersion of MoS2.