Trimetallic RuxMoNi Catalysts Supported on SBA-15 for the Hydrodesulfurization of Dibenzothiophene

In this work, novel trimetallic catalysts based on transition metal sulphides (Ru, Mo and Ni) supported on SBA-15 were synthesized. Citric acid (CA) was used as chelating agent in order to enhance the dispersion of the active phase and minimize the metal-support interaction. Sulfided catalysts were evaluated in the reaction of hydrodesulfurization (HDS) of dibenzothiophene (DBT) at 320 °C and 54.5 atm of total H2 pressure. The effects of different Ru/(Ni + Mo) atomic ratios on the active phase were studied. The catalysts were characterized using Micro-Raman spectroscopy, DRIFTS, XRD, XPS, HR-TEM and SEM techniques. Results have shown that there was a better dispersion of the metallic phases, which improves the physicochemical properties of the catalysts, increasing the catalytic activity. The trimetallic RuxMoNi catalyst with the lowest atomic ratio, have shown superior catalytic activity compared to their higher atomic ratio counterparts. The interaction of the chelating agent improved the catalytic activity, which was superior to that observed for NiMo based catalysts, considered one of the most active hydrotreating catalysts.