Mild hydrotreating over NiMo/sepiolite catalyst

In order to introduce an alternative catalyst for hydrotreating (HDT) reaction a study of NiMo supported on natural sepiolite catalysts is presented. The sepiolite catalyst has been prepared in this laboratory and a NiMo/Al2O3 commercial catalyst is used as a reference. The textural properties of the materials and their catalytic activity in hydrotreating (HDT) and hydrodesulfuration (HDS) using a FCC feed at 400-475°C and 50 MPa total pressure, have been evaluated. The support of the commercial catalyst is alumina containing mesopores. The sepiolite support is a hydrated magnesium phylosilicate containing micropores but with an open structure that confers the possibility to use it as a catalyst. The hydrotreating conversion (wt.% HDT) is defined here as the net hydrotreating conversion into products boiling below 380°C. For the commercial catalyst the wt.% HDT was only 5% higher than for the catalyst supported on sepiolite and the product selectivity was very similar. HDS conversion was 20% lower for the sepiolite supported catalyst. Taking into account these results the sepiolite is a suitable support of HDS catalysts.