No description available.

No description available.

γ-Al2O3 supported Co-W based catalysts with varying Co (1 - 3 wt %) and W (7 - 13 wt %) loadings were prepared using impregnation and sonochemical methods. All prepared catalysts were characterized with elemental analysis, BET analysis, X-ray diffraction (XRD), NH3 temperature programmed desorption (TPD), temperature programmed reduction (TPR) and thermogravimetry analysis (TGA). <p>The performances of all the synthesized catalysts were tested at a pressure of 8.9 MPa, LHSV of 2 h-1 and temperatures of 340, 350 and 360 °C in a laboratory trickle bed microreactor for hydrodesulphurization (HDS) and hydrodenitrogenation (HDN) of light gas oil (LGO) derived from Athabasca bitumen. The performance tests with impregnated catalysts indicated a maximum in activity for HDS and HDN reactions (sulfur and nitrogen conversions at 93.0 and 57.1 % at 360 °C) for Co(3 wt %)-W(10 wt %)/γ-Al2O3 whereas the performance tests with sonochemically prepared catalysts showed a maximum in activity (sulfur and nitrogen conversions at 87.9 and 42.5 % at 360 °C) for Co(3 wt %)-W(11.5 wt %)/ γ-Al2O3. These two catalysts were selected for detail performance, optimization and kinetic studies. The effects of reaction temperature (340 - 380 °C), pressure (7.6 - 10.3 MPa), liquid hourly space velocity (1.5 - 2.0 h-1) and hydrogen gas/gas oil ratio (400 - 800 mL/mL) were examined on HDS and HDN of LGO with these catalysts. The reaction kinetics for HDS was best fitted with a Power Law model whereas same for HDN was found to be best represented by a Langmuir-Hinshelwood model with a reasonable accuracy (0.90 <R2 <0.95). The activation energy for HDS of LGO were 14 and 12 kJ/mol for selected impregnated and sonochemically prepared catalysts whereas the same for HDN were 9 and 14 kJ/mol for these catalysts, respectively. Calculation showed that the fitted HDS rate expressions were apparent and HDN rate expressions were intrinsic under existing reaction conditions. It also showed that the pore diffusion resistances for both HDS and HDN increased with an increase in reaction temperature from 340 to 380 °C.

γ-Al2O3 supported Co-W based catalysts with varying Co (1 - 3 wt %) and W (7 - 13 wt %) loadings were prepared using impregnation and sonochemical methods. All prepared catalysts were characterized with elemental analysis, BET analysis, X-ray diffraction (XRD), NH3 temperature programmed desorption (TPD), temperature programmed reduction (TPR) and thermogravimetry analysis (TGA). <p>The performances of all the synthesized catalysts were tested at a pressure of 8.9 MPa, LHSV of 2 h-1 and temperatures of 340, 350 and 360 °C in a laboratory trickle bed microreactor for hydrodesulphurization (HDS) and hydrodenitrogenation (HDN) of light gas oil (LGO) derived from Athabasca bitumen. The performance tests with impregnated catalysts indicated a maximum in activity for HDS and HDN reactions (sulfur and nitrogen conversions at 93.0 and 57.1 % at 360 °C) for Co(3 wt %)-W(10 wt %)/γ-Al2O3 whereas the performance tests with sonochemically prepared catalysts showed a maximum in activity (sulfur and nitrogen conversions at 87.9 and 42.5 % at 360 °C) for Co(3 wt %)-W(11.5 wt %)/ γ-Al2O3. These two catalysts were selected for detail performance, optimization and kinetic studies. The effects of reaction temperature (340 - 380 °C), pressure (7.6 - 10.3 MPa), liquid hourly space velocity (1.5 - 2.0 h-1) and hydrogen gas/gas oil ratio (400 - 800 mL/mL) were examined on HDS and HDN of LGO with these catalysts. The reaction kinetics for HDS was best fitted with a Power Law model whereas same for HDN was found to be best represented by a Langmuir-Hinshelwood model with a reasonable accuracy (0.90 <R2 <0.95). The activation energy for HDS of LGO were 14 and 12 kJ/mol for selected impregnated and sonochemically prepared catalysts whereas the same for HDN were 9 and 14 kJ/mol for these catalysts, respectively. Calculation showed that the fitted HDS rate expressions were apparent and HDN rate expressions were intrinsic under existing reaction conditions. It also showed that the pore diffusion resistances for both HDS and HDN increased with an increase in reaction temperature from 340 to 380 °C.

Bitumen-derived heavy gas oil contains large amounts of sulfur (~4.0 wt.%) and nitrogen (~0.4 wt.%), which need to be lowered before it becomes suitable as a feedstock for refineries. The most widely used upgrading process is hydrotreating, and the conventional catalyst used for hydrotreating is Ni or Co and Mo or W supported on γ-Al2O3. Additionally, environmentally driven regulations impose strict limits on sulfur and nitrogen levels in transportation fuels. Therefore, the main focus of this work was to enhance the activity of a NiMo supported catalyst through its modification and to improve its selectivity to removal of bulky sulfur- and nitrogen-containing compounds from heavy gas oil under industrial hydrotreating conditions. This work was divided into four phases, and this thesis summarizes the research outcomes of each phase. The first phase examined the effects of chelating ligands, specifically, ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid (EDTA), on hydrotreating activity and the sulfidation mechanism. EDTA was seen to have a beneficial effect on hydrotreating activity. Detailed mechanistic aspects of interactions between support and EDTA, EDTA and metallic species, support and metal, support and active phase, and metallic species and metallic species at different reaction conditions, were also studied. Characterization by XANES revealed that the presence of a chelating agent delayed nickel sulfidation, which was the main cause of improvement in hydrodesulfurization (HDS) and hydrodenitrogenation (HDN) activities. It also showed that EDTA plays a role in redistribution of active phases during sulfidation and favors the formation of octahedral molybdenum oxides. The second phase studied the effects of support modification and combinations of different supports and EDTA. In this phase, several mesoporous materials, including M-SBA-15 (M= Al, Ti and Zr), mesoporous mixed metal oxides (TiO2-Al2O3, ZrO2-Al2O3 andSnO2-Al2O3) and mesoporous metal oxides (ZrO2, Al2O3), were synthesized and used as support materials for a NiMo catalyst. NiMo/M-SBA-15 catalysts showed higher HDS and HDN activities and, the increase in activity is attributed to incorporation of heteroatoms in an SBA-15 matrix, which resulted in increase in metal support interaction, acidic strength and dispersion of active metals. The addition of EDTA to these catalysts helps in the formation of octahedral molybdenum oxide, which are easily reducible during sulfidation. This is evident from the XANES Mo LIII-edge study of the oxide catalysts. The increase in hydrodenitrogenation (HDN), hydrodesulfurization (HDS) and hydrodearomatization (HDA) activities as compared to that shown by the NiMo/γ-Al2O3 catalyst were also observed on addition of EDTA in large-pore, high-surface-area mesoporous zirconia supported NiMo catalysts. The incorporation of different metal oxides in alumina, as in the case of mixed metal oxides, resulted in a change in acidic strength and metal support interactions. It was observed with acridine-FTIR analysis that the catalysts with higher acidic strength tightly held acridine at high temperatures. This implies that catalysts with higher acidity are prone to inhibition by nitrogen-containing compounds present in feed, which will affect catalytic activity. The HDS and HDN activities for hydrotreating of heavy gas oil suggest that mesoporous alumina and titania-alumina supported catalysts perform better as compared to the conventional NiMo/γ-Al2O3 catalyst. Therefore, the effects of EDTA to Ni molar ratio (EDTA/Ni = 0 to 2) on the activities of the NiMo/MesoAl2O3 and NiMo/MesoTiO2-Al2O3 catalysts were studied, and EDTA was observed to have a negative impact on catalytic activity for these catalysts. This is attributed to a decrease in the active metal dispersion in these catalysts caused by the addition of EDTA. The catalysts NiMo/MesoAl2O3 and NiMo/MesoTiO2-Al2O3 without EDTA showed high active metal dispersion due to their high surface area and ordered structure. The third phase studied the combined effects of phosphorus and EDTA on the hydrotreating activity of NiMo supported catalysts. The effects of method of phosphorus addition (sequential and co-impregnation method) were also studied. When phosphorus was added using a co-impregnation method, as in the catalyst NiMoP/MesoAl2O3(CI), an increase in HDN, HDA and HDS activities was observed. However, the catalysts containing both EDTA and phosphorus showed a decrease in HDS and HDN activities. The fourth phase included a kinetic study using the Power Law and L-H models. The catalyst, NiMoP/mesoAl2O3(CI), was found to have higher HDN and HDS activities as compared to a conventional γ-Al2O3 supported catalyst containing phosphorus.

No description available.

L'objectif de la thèse est d'identifier les effets de l'acidité de catalyseurs sulfures supportés en hydrodésazotation (HDN) afin d'améliorer les performances catalytiques.Un modèle cinétique de Langmuir-Hinshelwood y compris le transfert de masse liquide-vapeur a été utilisé pour analyser les données cinétiques obtenues à partir de l'HDN de la quinoléine et de l'indole sur NiMo(P)/Al2O3 et NiMo(P)/ASA. Les résultats de la modélisation cinétique a montré que le NiMo(P)/ASA a favorisé l'hydrogénation du 1,2,3,4-tétrahydroquinoléine en decahydroquinoléine, qui est l'étape limitant de vitesse de l'HDN de la quinoléine. Cependant, l'effet de promotion du NiMo(P)/ASA pour les étapes d'hydrogénation de l'HDN de l'indole n'a pas été mis en évidence. En plus, le NiMo(P)/ASA a favorisé fortement les réactions d'élimination de l'atome d'azote. Les composés azotés adsorbent plus fortement sur NiMo (P)/ASA. La caractérisation par spectroscopie infrarouge de CO a suggéré que ces résultats pourraient être liés à la modification des propriétés électroniques de la phase NiMoS due à l'acidité plus élevée de l'ASA.La quinoléine est un fort inhibiteur pour l'HDN de l'indole alors que l'effet inhibiteur de l'indole sur l'HDN de la quinoléine était négligeable sur NiMo(P)/Al2O3 et plus important sur NiMo(P)/ASA. L'HDN d'un mélange de Straight Run et Coker Gazole a permis d'évaluer le mécanisme réactionnel et de comparer la réactivité vers HDN de différents composés. L'HDN des composés neutres a été inhibée par une adsorption forte des composés basiques. Les composés de type carbazole et quinoléine étaient réfractaires. Le NiMo(P)/ASA a probablement favorisé plus les craquages et montré une désactivation plus rapide que le NiMo(P)/Al2O3 / The thesis objective is to identify the support acidity effects of sulfide catalysts in hydrodenitrogenation (HDN) reactions in order to improve the HDN catalysts.Kinetic data obtained from quinoline and indole HDN, over NiMo(P)/Al2O3 and NiMo(P)/ASA catalysts were analyzed by a Langmuir-Hinshelwood kinetic model, including liquid-vapor mass transfer, in order to estimate kinetic and adsorption parameters. Kinetic modeling results indicated that the NiMo(P)/ASA catalyst favored the hydrogenation of 1,2,3,4-tetrahydroquinoline into decahydroquinoline, which is the rate limiting step of quinoline HDN. However, the promoting effect of the NiMo(P)/ASA in hydrogenation steps of indole HDN was not evidenced. In quinoline and indole HDN, the NiMo(P)/ASA showed a strong promoting effect in N-removal reactions. Nitrogen compounds adsorb more strongly over NiMo(P)/ASA. Characterization by Infra-Red spectroscopy of CO suggested that these results might be related to the modification of the electronic properties of promoted NiMoS phase due to higher acidity of ASA.The HDN of quinoline-indole mixture showed a strong inhibiting effect of quinoline on indole HDN whereas the inhibiting effect of indole on quinoline HDN was negligible over NiMo(P)/Al2O3 and more important over NiMo(P)/ASA. The HDN of a mixture of Straight Run and Coker Gas Oil allowed an access to the HDN mechanism and comparison of reactivity towards HDN of different compounds. The HDN of neutral compounds was inhibited by the stronger adsorption of basic compounds. Carbazole-type and quinoline-type compounds were refractory. The NiMo(P)/ASA likely favored more cracking reactions and as well showed a faster deactivation rate than the Al2O3 counter catalyst

On expose deux logiciels de traitement de chromatogrammes de gas oils qui permettent l'évaluation des richesses de composants particuliers: les n-paraffines. Le premier permet par des recalages par «moindres carrés» d'estimer ces richesses à partir de deux chromatogrammes: celui du gas oil, mais aussi celui de ce même gas oil, sans les n-paraffines. Le deuxième ne nécessite plus que le seul chromatogramme du gas oil: on remplace l'information manquante par la connaissance théorique acquise sur la forme des n-paraffines. On procède en deux étapes: 1) application de la théorie de l'inf-convolution spline, en vue de séparer au mieux, par un profil de n-paraffine normalisé celle-ci du reste du gas oil; 2) application des méthodes de minimisation à plusieurs variables pour choisir, parmi les formes possibles pour une n-paraffines la forme optimale

Multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) are a potential alternative to commonly used catalyst support structures in hydrotreating processes. Synthesis of MWCNTs with specific pore diameters can be achieved by chemical vapor deposition (CVD) of a carbon source onto an anodic aluminum oxide (AAO) template. AAO films consist of pore channels in a uniform hexagonal arrangement that run parallel to the surface of the film. These films are created by the passivation of an aluminum anode within an electrolysis cell consisting of certain weak acid electrolytes. Changing the concentration of the electrolyte (oxalic acid) and the electrical potential of the electrolysis cell altered the pore channel diameter of these AAO films. Controlling the pore diameter of these templates enabled the pore diameter of MWCNTs synthesized by CVD to be controlled as well. The produced MWCNTs were characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), Raman spectroscopy, and N2 adsorption analysis. Anodizing conditions of 0.40 M oxalic acid concentration and 40.0 V maximum anodizing potential were found to produce AAO films that resulted in MWCNTs with optimum surface characteristics for a catalyst support application. CVD parameter values of 650°C reaction temperature and 8.00 mL/(min·g) C2H2-to-AAO ratio were found to produce the highest yield of MWCNT product.<p> The MWCNTs were synthesized for the purpose of supporting hydroprocessing catalysts, with several grades of NiMo/MWCNT sulfide catalysts being prepared to determine the optimum pore size. These catalysts were characterized by techniques of TEM, CO chemisorption, N2 adsorption, and H2 temperature programmed reduction (TPR). A MWCNT grade with 67 nm inner diameters (found from TEM analysis) was found to offer the best hydrodesulfurization (HDS) and hydrodenitrogenation (HDN) activities for the treatment of coker light gas oil (CLGO). After determining the most suitable pore diameter, the optimum catalyst metal loadings were found to be 2.5 wt.% for Ni and 19.5 wt.% for Mo. The optimum catalyst was found to offer HDS conversions of 90.5%, 84.4%, and 73.5% with HDN conversions of 75.9%, 65.8%, and 55.3% for temperatures of 370°C, 350°C, and 330°C, respectively. An equal mass loading of commercial NiMo/ã-Al2O3 catalyst offered HDS conversions of 91.2%, 77.9%, and 58.5% with HDN conversions of 71.4%, 53.2%, and 31.3% for temperatures of 370°C, 350°C, and 330°C, respectively.<p> A kinetic study was performed on the optimum NiMo/MWCNT catalyst to help predict its HDS and HDN activities while varying the parameters of temperature, liquid hourly space velocity (LHSV), pressure, and gas-to-oil flow rate ratio. Rate expressions were then developed to predict the behavior of both the HDS and HDN reactions. Power law models were best fit with reaction orders of 2.6 and 1.2, and activation energies of 161 kJ/mol and 82.3 kJ/mol, for the HDS and HDN reactions, respectively. Generalized Langmuir-Hinshelwood models were found to have reaction orders of 3.0 and 1.5, and activation energies of 155 kJ/mol and 42.3 kJ/mol, for the HDS and HDN reactions, respectively.

The pore diameter of a catalyst support controls the diffusion of reactant molecules to the catalytic active sites; thus, affecting the rates and conversions of the hydrotreating reactions. Desirable textural properties of SBA-15 makes it a potential alternative to the conventionally used γ-Al2O3 support due to the fact that its pore size can be manipulated via controlling the synthesis parameters, while maintaining relatively high surface area. Larger pore diameter SBA-15 supports may facilitate the diffusion of bulky molecules as that of the asphaltenes present in the heavy petroleum fractions, making it a potential catalyst support for hydrotreating operations. Considering the very sour nature of Canadas bitumen with high sulfur contents in the range of 2-6 wt %, the appreciably high sulfur contents particularly present in Athabasca derived heavy gas oils (about 4 wt % sulfur), the rising demand for cleaner fuels, and also the increasing stringency on environmental standards, the need for novel and improved hydrotreating catalysts cannot be overemphasized. By varying the molar ratio of hexane to ammonium fluoride, the pore channels of SBA-15 could be varied. Controlling the pore diameter of these supports via micelle swelling facilitated the production of larger pore diameter SBA-15-supported catalysts. In this project, four mesoporous silica SBA-15 catalyst supports with pore diameters in the range of 5-20 nm were synthesized in the preliminary phase using hexane as the micelle swelling agent and subsequently utilized for the loading of 2 wt.% Fe and 15 wt.% W catalyst metals, respectively. The hexagonal mesoscopic structure of these materials were characterized using powder small-angle X-ray scattering (SAXS), N2 adsorption-desorption isotherms, TEM and SEM images. Powder XRD analysis evidenced inhomogeneous metal dispersion on the largest pore diameter catalyst. An optimum pore diameter of 10 nm was found for Cat-B and subsequently used to obtain the optimum Fe and W loadings required to achieve the best hydrodesulfurization (HDS) and hydrodenitrogenation (HDN) activities. The optimum catalyst was found to be Cat-H with metal loadings of 3 wt.% Fe and 30 wt.% W. At these loadings and temperatures of 375°C, 388°C, and 400°C, HDS activities of 53.4%, 64.1%, and 73.3% with corresponding HDN activities of 21.9%, 26.2%, and 38.3%, respectively, were recorded. Catalytic performance evaluations conducted on equal mass loading using a reference commercial γ-Al2O3-supported FeW catalyst offered HDS activities of 69.3%, 80.4%, and 89.1%, with corresponding HDN activities of 16.4%, 32.4%, and 49.3% at the same temperatures studied. However, no significant changes in HDS and HDN activities were observed for similar evaluations on volume percent metals loading basis. Kinetic studies performed with the optimum FeW/SBA-15 catalyst suggested activation energies of 147.2 and 150.6 kJ/mol for HDS and HDN, respectively, by the Langmuir-Hinshelwoods model. Similar results were predicted by the Power Law and Multi-parameter models for HDS (129.6 and 126.7 kJ/mol, respectively), which does not conclusively make the latter model clearly stand out as the best. Data fitting by the Power Law suggested reaction orders of 2 and 1.5 for HDS and HDN, which seem to be consistent for the hydrotreatment of heavy gas oil. Finally, a long-term deactivation study spanning a period of 60 days time-on-stream showed the optimum catalyst to be stable under hydrotreating experiments conducted in a downward flow micro-trickle bed reactor at temperature, pressure, liquid hourly space velocity (LHSV), and gas/oil ratio of 375400˚C, 8.8 MPa, 1h-1, and 600 mL/mL (at STP), respectively.