ABSTRACT
Hydrothermal synthesis with ammonium heptamolybdate and thiourea as precursors was used to obtain an unsupported MoS2 catalyst. The catalyst was obtained in sulfide state directly at mild reaction conditions (i.e., 180°C during 5 h). After catalyst was obtained, it was characterized through nitrogen physisorption, transmission electron microscopy, energy-dispersive spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction, and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. Catalytic evaluation was carried out in a batch reactor at 350°C, 55 bar of hydrogen pressure, 750 rpm, and 3 h of reaction time using straight-run gas oil (SRGO) as feedstock. A commercial CoMo/Al2O3 catalyst was used for comparison of activity. The synthesized catalyst was slightly more active toward SRGO hydrodesulfurization than commercial one keeping constant the sulfur removal after two runs.
Acknowledgments
The authors thank the TEM and XPS Laboratories at Centro de Nanociencias y Micro y Nanotecnologías (CNMN) at Instituto Politécnico Nacional (IPN) for provided services in the present work.
Funding
J. D. Cuesta thanks CONACYT for financial support.