Kinetic study of NiMo/SBA-15 catalysts prepared with citric acid in hydrodesulfurization of dibenzothiophene

We performed a kinetic study of the effect of citric acid (CA) during the synthesis of NiMo catalysts supported on SBA-15 in hydrodesulfurization (HDS) of dibenzothiophene (DBT). The aim of this work is to get a deeper insight with respect to the thermal treatment and the pH of the impregnation solutions on the kinetic behavior of NiMoCA/ SBA-15 catalysts. NiMoCA/SBA-15 catalysts were characterized by N2 physisorption, powder XRD, HRTEM and elemental analysis and tested in HDS of DBT in a Batch reactor at 300 °C for 8 h. The kinetic study of these catalysts showed changes by CA addition on hydrogenation and direct desulfurization reaction routes depending on catalyst preparation conditions.

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► NiMo sulfided catalysts supported on SBA-15 were prepared with citric acid (CA).
► CA modifies the morphology of active phase and could act as a carbon source.
► Kinetic study of these catalysts explains the modifications of the active sites of MoS2 by CA addition.
► NiMoCA/SBA-15 catalysts have outstanding changes in activity and selectivity of DBT hydrodesulfurization by modifying pH of impregnation solution and thermal treatment.