Naphtha HDS over Co-Mo/Graphene catalyst synthesized through the spray pyrolysis technique

- Co-Mo/Graphene catalyst prepared by the spray pyrolysis method for the first time.
- The synthesized Co-Mo/G catalyst applied to an HDS process.
- Capabilities of in situ and simultaneous Co-Mo composited on G were major pluses.
- HDS evaluation over composite yielded 100 vs. 91.07% conversion of industrial case.
- The synthesized catalyst possessed high acidity and surface area playing key roles.

Co-Mo/Graphene composite synthesized for the first time through the spray pyrolysis method and applied as an HDS catalyst to produce a sulfur free Naphtha feed. The major advantage of the spray pyrolysis technique was its concurrent capability of the in-situ and simultaneous Co-Mo deposition upon the graphene. The produced material was characterized through the XRD, BET-BJH, FTIR and Raman spectroscopy as well as; the NH3-TPD, TPR, TEM and FESEM techniques. The prepared catalyst showed unique properties such as; high degree of total acidity of 5.1 (vs. the usual 0.2-2.0) mmole NH3/g-cat and a relatively high surface area of 705 vs. 189 m2/g of the commercial material. Furthermore, the synthesized graphene based material reduced to active species considerably easier than that of the alumina based commercial catalyst. Ultimately, the HDS reactor evaluation of the prepared composite catalyst over a Naphtha feed of 2800 ppm total sulfur (for all practical purposes) displayed 100% sulfur removal while only 91.07% conversion obtained over a commercial industrial catalyst.