Slurry-Phase Hydrocracking of a Decalin-Phenanthrene Mixture by MoS2/SiO2-ZrO2 Bifunctional Catalysts

Slurry-phase hydrocracking is one of the most advanced technologies for the conversion of inferior heavy oil to light fuel oil. In this work, MoS2 was combined with SiO2-ZrO2 mixed oxides to offer a new class of bifunctional catalysts for slurry-phase hydrocracking. In the bifunctional catalysts, SiO2-ZrO2 mixed oxides with abundant mesopores and acid sites act as cracking catalysts. They were presynthesized by a sol-gel-hydrothermal method and systematically characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), N-2 adsorption, Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), NH3-temperature programed desorption (NH3-TPD), and in situ diffuse reflectance infrared Fourier transform spectroscopy (DRIFTS). The effect of Si/Zr molar ratios on the chemical structure, especially the acid properties of SiO2-ZrO2 mixed oxides were examined. Subsequently, a mixture of decalin-phenanthrene was selected as the model system to investigate the performance of bifunctional catalysts. It was found that the conversions of decalin and phenanthrene were significantly improved for MoS2/SiO2-ZrO2 bifunctional catalysts. Further analysis indicated that the Bronsted acid sites of SiO2-ZrO2 mixed oxides played an important role in the improvement of decalin and phenanthrene conversions.