Performance assessment of NiMo/γ-Al2O3 catalysts for upgrading KEC-AR: An assessment of selected apparent kinetic parameters of selected hydrotreating reactions

Performance assessment of NiMo/γ-Al2O3 catalysts for upgrading KEC-AR: An assessment of selected apparent kinetic parameters of selected hydrotreating reactions

Type	Journal Article
Author	Jamal Alfadhli
Author	Abdulwahab Alhindi
Author	Safat, Kuwait Petroleum Refining Department, Kuwait Institute for Scientific Research
URL	http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S001623611500976X
Volume	164
Pages	38-45
Publication	Fuel
Date	January 15, 2016
Abstract	Researchers examined the performance of three commercially available ARDS catalysts for the purpose of upgrading KEC-AR. They selected the catalysts chosen based on NiMo/γ-Al2O3 with varying NiMo loadings, porosities, and surface areas. KEC-AR was the 360 °C+ atmospheric derivative of Kuwait Export Crude (KEC). They tested the catalysts using a fixed-bed reactor under operating conditions similar to the operating conditions applied on the actual ARDS units operated by Kuwait National Petroleum Company (KNPC). Test results revealed that vanadium removal from KEC-AR is highly dependent on catalyst porosity. The wider and larger the catalyst pores were, the higher was the vanadium conversion. Researchers also noted that vanadium removal correlates proportionally with asphaltene conversion. Unlike vanadium removal, nickel removal exhibited a slight dependence on the NiMo loading. However, it did not show a clear dependence on asphaltene removal, despite the fact that 70% of the nickel in KEC-AR is housed in the asphaltene fraction. Sulfur removal from KEC-AR was observed to be dependent on two factors: the catalyst porosity and the catalytic sites. This was evident because it was observed that the catalyst that had intermediate properties in terms of porosity and NiMo loading was the most active among the others tested in this study. Asphaltene removal from KEC-AR showed clear dependence on catalyst porosity. It was observed that the catalyst with wider and larger pores was the most active among the others even though, quantitatively, the catalyst had the least NiMo loading and the smallest surface area when compared to the other two catalysts in this study.