Application of Urchin-Alumina as Catalyst Support in Hydrodesulfuization of Siberian (Ruassia) Crude Oil

The catalyst pore structure is important to accommodate deposits in the hydrotreatment processes. In the current study, urchin alumina with large pore mouths was successfully synthesized by template free method, and was used as catalyst support for the hydrodesulfurization (HDS) of Siberian crude oil. Commercial alumina was used as reference. The catalysts were characterized by XRD, N₂ physisorption, TPR, NH₃-TPD, SEM, and was evaluated in a trickle-bed reactor. The urchin alumina exhibits smaller surface area and larger average pore diameter than the commercial alumina. NiMo/ur-Al₂O₃ shows similar activity and better stability within the long-term HDS run of 100 h. After the HDS test, the weight loss of coke over NiMo/ur-Al₂O₃ is about half of that over NiMo/com-Al₂O₃; however, the urchin morphology of NiMo/ur-Al₂O₃ is not retained due to the high pressure during the reaction. The better performance in carbon resistance is consistent with the “chestnut bur” catalyst reported by IFP; this work supplements the synthesis detail and characterizations for the urchin-alumina supported catalyst, and provides important information for industrial hydrotreatment catalyst development. Graphic abstract: [Figure not available: see fulltext.].