NiMo/Al2O3 catalyst containing nano-sized zeolite Y for deep hydrodesulfurization and hydrodenitrogenation of diesel

Two mixed-matrix NiMo/Al2O3 catalysts containing nano- and micro-sized zeolite Y have been prepared to explore the size effect of zeolite Y particle on the hydrodesulfurization (HDS) and hydrodenitrogenation (HDN) activities of fluid catalytic cracking (FCC) diesel. They were characterized by SEM, BET, XRD, H-2-TPR, NH3-TPD and HRTEM. The results show that the catalyst containing nano-sized zeolite Y possesses larger average pore diameter, higher pore volume, weaker and lesser acid sites, more easily reducible metal phases, shorter MoS2 slabs and more slab layers than the catalyst containing micro-sized zeolite Y. The catalysts were also evaluated with a high-pressure fixed-bed reactor using real FCC diesel as feed. The results display that the catalyst containing nano-sized zeolite Y bears higher HDS and HDN activities and exhibits higher relative rate constant for the removal of total sulfur or nitrogen than the one containing micro-sized zeolite.