Study of MoS2 Catalyst Recycle in Slurry-Phase Residue Hydroconversion

Abstract

A study of MoS2 catalyst recycle during slurry-phase hydroconversion of residue oil, under high hydroconversion conditions, is reported. Different concentrations of MoS2 (100, 300, 600, and 1800 ppm Mo derived from Mo-micelle and Mo-octoate precursors) were investigated in a semibatch stirred reactor. Catalyst recycle was simulated by reusing the solid coke-catalyst recovered from the reactor in subsequent experiments. The process was repeated several times until the catalyst deactivated. The recycled catalyst had a very similar activity to the fresh catalyst in the early stages of recycling. Experimental results showed that with increased catalyst concentration, an increased number of catalyst recycles with acceptable coke yield ( 80 wt %) were possible before deactivation was observed. At an initial concentration of 600 ppm Mo (using both Mo-micelle and Mo-octoate precursors), the catalysts were recycled 3 times without any significant lo...