Thiophene hydrodesulfurization over modified alumina-supported molybdenum sulfide catalysts

Methanethiol has been synthesized by one‐step catalytic reaction from H₂S‐content syngas on K₂MoS₄/SiO₂ catalyst with selectivity over 95% under the optimum reaction conditions of 563 K, 2.0–3.0 MPa and 5–6% H₂S content in the feed syngas. The results of XRD and XPS showed that Mo–S–K phase on the surface of the catalyst K₂MoS₄/SiO₂ was responsible for the high activity and selectivity to methanethiol, and which may be restrained by the existence of (S–S)^2- species. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

An effective heterogeneous WO3/TiO2–SiO2 catalyst for selective oxidation of cyclopentene to glutaraldehyde by H2O2

TiO₂–SiO₂ mixed oxide with large pore size was synthesized by the xerogel method and it was then used to prepare the WO₃/TiO₂–SiO₂ catalyst by an incipient wetness method. The as‐prepared WO₃/TiO₂–SiO₂ sample was employed as the first heterogeneous catalyst in the liquid‐phase cyclopentene oxidation by aqueous H₂O₂, which exhibited higher selectivity (about 75%) to glutaraldehyde (GA) and, in turn, higher GA yield than the WO₃/SiO₂ heterogeneous catalyst and even the tungstic acid homogeneous catalyst under the same reaction conditions. The amorphous WO₃ phase was identified as the active sites and the loss of the active sites was proved to be not important. The lifetime of the catalyst was determined and its regeneration method was proposed. The effects of various factors on the catalytic behaviors, such as the WO₃ loading, the calcination temperature, the surface acidity and the reaction media, were investigated and discussed based on various characterizations including BET, XRD, XPS, FTIR, EXAFS and Raman spectra etc. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

CO hydrogenation over a RhVO4/SiO2 catalyst after H2 reduction

The hydrogenation of CO over a RhVO₄/SiO₂ catalyst has been investigated after H₂ reduction at 773 K. A strong metal–oxide interaction (SMOI) induced by the decomposition of RhVO₄ in H₂ enhanced not only the selectivity to C₂ oxygenates but also the CO conversion drastically, compared with an unpromoted Rh/SiO₂ catalyst. The selectivity of the RhVO₄/SiO₂ catalyst was similar to those of conventional V₂O₅‐promoted Rh/SiO₂ catalysts (V₂O₅–Rh/SiO₂), but the CO dissociation activity (and TOF) was much higher than for V₂O₅–Rh/SiO₂, and hence the yield of C₂ oxygenates was increased. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Low temperature selective catalytic reduction of NO by NH3 over V2O5 supported on TiO2–SiO2–MoO3

The V₂O₅ catalysts supported on TiO₂–SiO₂–MoO₃ (TSM) prepared by the coprecipitation method were investigated for the selective catalytic reduction (SCR) of NO by NH₃ at low temperatures. The V₂O₅/TSM catalyst with 7–13 wt% SiO₂ was found to exhibit a superior SCR activity and a good sulfur tolerance at low temperatures (<250 °C). The presence of highly active polymeric vanadates formed by the incorporation of MoO₃ to TiO₂–SiO₂ and superior redox properties seems to enhance SCR activity, and furthermore the very lower SO₂ oxidation activity due to the higher acidity leads to the remarkable improvement of sulfur tolerance.     

Hydrotreating of Heavy Gas Oil Derived from Athabasca Bitumen Over Co–Mo/γ-Al2O3 Catalyst Prepared by Sonochemical Method

Co–Mo/γ-Al₂O₃ oxide containing 9.8 wt% Mo and 2.9 wt% Co was prepared by high-intensity ultrasonic irradiation of Mo(CO)₆, Co₂(CO)₈, and γ-Al₂O₃ in decahydronapthalene under air flow. The oxidic Co–Mo catalyst thus formed was characterized by elemental analysis, BET N₂ adsorption and XRD. The surface sites on the sulfided Co–Mo/γ-Al₂O₃ catalyst were characterized by infrared spectroscopy of CO adsorption. Hydrodenitrogenation (HDN) and hydrodesulfurization (HDS) activities were evaluated for heavy gas oil derived from Athabasca bitumen in a trickle bed reaction system using the following conditions: temperatures ranging from 370 to 400 °C, a pressure of 8.8 MPa, a liquid hourly space velocity of 1 h⁻¹, and a H₂/feed ratio of 600 ml/ml. The dispersion, nature of active sites and hydrotreating activity of this catalyst were compared with the conventionally prepared Co–Mo/γ-Al₂O₃ catalyst containing similar wt% of Mo and Co. The Co–Mo catalyst prepared by sonochemical method has higher HDN and HDS rate constants than the conventional catalyst due to an improved dispersion of MoS₂.     

FTIR study of CO adsorption on coked Pt–Sn/Al2O3 catalysts

Infrared spectra of adsorbed CO have been used as a probe to monitor changes in Pt site character induced by the coking of Pt/Al₂O₃ and Pt–Sn/Al₂O₃ catalysts by heat treatment in heptane/hydrogen. Four distinguishable types of Pt site for the linear adsorption of CO on Pt/Al₂O₃ were poisoned to different extents showing the heterogeneity of the exposed Pt atoms. The lowest coordination Pt atoms (ν(CO) < 2030 cm⁻¹) were unpoisoned whereas the highest coordination sites in large ensembles of Pt atoms (2080 cm⁻¹) were highly poisoned, as were sites of intermediate coordination (2030–2060 cm⁻¹). Sites in smaller two‐dimensional ensembles of Pt atoms (2060–2065 cm⁻¹) were partially poisoned, as were sites for the adsorption of CO in a bridging configuration. The addition of Sn blocked the lowest coordination sites and destroyed large ensembles of Pt by a geometric dilution effect. The poisoning of other sites by coke was impeded by Sn, this effect being magnified for Cl‐containing catalyst. Oxidation or oxychlorination of coked catalyst at 823 K followed by reduction completely removed coke from the catalyst surfaces. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Promoting Effect of CeO2 on NO x Reduction with Propene over SnO2/Al2O3 Catalyst Studied with In situ FT-IR Spectroscopy

The mechanistic cause of the promoting effect of CeO₂ on the activity of SnO₂/Al₂O₃ catalyst for the SCR of NO _x by propene was investigated using X-ray photoelectron spectra (XPS) and in situ Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy. FT-IR measurements have revealed that the role of CeO₂ on the CeO₂–SnO₂/Al₂O₃ catalyst is to contribute to the formation of formate, acetate and nitrate species, and to promote the reaction between nitrates and hydrocarbon-derived species to form isocyanate (–NCO), which is a reaction intermediate for NO _x reduction.     

Characterization of Supported NiSO4 and Effect of TiO2–ZrO2 Composition on Catalytic Activity for Acid Catalysis

A series of catalysts, NiSO₄/TiO₂–ZrO₂ having different TiO₂–ZrO₂ composition, for acid catalysis was prepared by the impregnation method using an aqueous solution of nickel sulfate. The addition of TiO₂ to ZrO₂ improved the surface area of the catalyst and enhanced its acidity remarkably because of the formation of new acid sites through the charge imbalance of Ti–O–Zr bonding. The binary oxide, TiO₂–ZrO₂ calcined above 600 °C resulted in the formation of crystalline orthorhombic phase of ZrTiO₄. Therefore, NiSO₄/TiO₂–ZrO₂ calcined at 500 °C exhibited a maximum catalytic activity for acid catalysis, and then the catalytic activity decreased with the calcination temperature. The correlation between catalytic activity and acidity held for both reaction, 2-propanol dehydration and cumene dealkylation. NiSO₄ supported on 50TiO₂–50ZrO₂ (TiO₂/ZrO₂ ratio = 1) among TiO₂–ZrO₂ binary oxides exhibited the highest catalytic activity for acid catalysis.     

Co-decorated carbon nanotube-supported Co–Mo–K sulfide catalyst for higher alcohol synthesis

Using chemical reduction-deposition method, a type of metallic cobalt-decorated multi-walled carbon nanotubes, noted as y%(mass percentage)Co/MWCNTs, was prepared. TEM, SEM and XRD measurements demonstrated that the metallic cobalt was evenly coated on the MWCNT substrate, with granule-diameter of the Co _x ⁰ -crystallites of 5–8 nm. Using the y%Co/MWCNTs as support, a type of supported Co–Mo–K sulfide catalysts, noted as x%(Co _i Mo _j K _k )/(y%Co/MWCNTs), for higher alcohol synthesis (HAS) was developed. It was experimentally shown that using the Co-modified MWCNTs in place of simple MWCNTs or activated carbon (AC) as the catalyst support led to a significant increase in activity of CO hydrogenation conversion and improvement in the selective formation of C₂₊-alcohols. Under the reaction condition of 5.0 MPa, 613 K, CO/H₂/N₂ = 45/45/10 (v/v) and GHSV = 3600 ml_STPh⁻¹ g _−cat. ⁻¹ , the observed STY of C_1–4-alcohols reached 154.1 mgh⁻¹g _−cat. ⁻¹ at 12.6% conversion of CO over the 11.6%(Co₁Mo₁K_0.6)/(6.4%Co/MWCNTs) catalyst, which was 1.76 and 2.33 times as high as that (87.7 and 66.1 mgh⁻¹g _−cat. ⁻¹ ) of the reference systems supported by simple MWCNTs and AC respectively. Ethanol became the predominant product of the CO hydrogenation, with carbon-based selectivity ratio of C_2–4-alcohols to CH₃OH reaching 3.6 in the products. It was experimentally found that using the Co-modified MWCNTs in place of simple MWCNTs or AC as the catalyst support caused little change in the apparent activation energy for the conversion of CO, but led to a slight increase in the molar percentage of catalytically active Mo-species (Mo⁴⁺) in the total Mo-amount at the surface of the functioning catalyst. Based upon the results of TPD investigation, it could be inferred that, under the reaction condition of HAS, there existed a considerably larger amount of adsorbed H-species and CO-species on the functioning catalyst, thus in favour of increasing the rate of a series of surface hydrogenation reactions in HAS.     

Nonoxidative dehydrogenation and aromatization of methane over W/HZSM‐5‐based catalysts

Highly active and heat‐resisting W/HZSM‐5‐based catalysts for nonoxidative dehydro‐aromatization of methane (DHAM) have been developed and studied. It was found from the experiments that the W−H₂SO₄/HZSM−5 catalyst prepared from a H₂SO₄‐acidified solution of ammonium tungstate (with a pH value at 2–3) displayed rather high DHAM activity at 973–1023 K, whereas the W/HZSM‐5 catalyst prepared from an alkaline or neutral solution of (NH₄)₂WO₄ showed very little DHAM activity at the same temperatures. Laser Raman spectra provided evidence for existence of (WO₆)^n- groups constructing polytungstate ions in the acidified solution of ammonium tungstate. The H₂‐TPR results showed that the reduction of precursor of the 3% W–H₂SO₄/HZSM‐5 catalyst may occur at temperatures below 900 K, producing W species with mixed valence states, W⁵⁺ and W⁴⁺, whereas the reduction of the 3% W/HZSM‐5 occurred mainly at temperatures above 1023 K, producing only one type of dominant W species, W⁵⁺. The results seem to imply that the observed high DHAM activity on the W–H₂SO₄/HZSM‐5 catalyst was closely correlated with (WO₆)^n- groups with octahedral coordination as the precursor of catalytically active species. Incorporation of Zn (or La) into the W–H₂SO₄/HZSM‐5 catalyst has been found to pronouncedly improve the activity and stability of the catalyst for DHAM reaction. Over a 2.5% W–1.5% Zn–H₂SO₄/HZSM‐5 catalyst and under reaction conditions of 1123 K, 0.1 MPa, and GHSV=1500 ml/(h g−cat.), methane conversion (XCH₄) reached 23% with the selectivity to benzene at ∼96% and an amount of coke for 3 h of operation at 0.02% of the catalyst weight used. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Promotional effect of H2O on the activity of In2O3‐doped Ga2O3–Al2O3 for the selective reduction of nitrogen monoxide

Effect of metal oxide additives on the catalytic performance of Ga₂O₃–Al₂O₃ prepared by the sol–gel method for the selective reduction of NO with propene in the presence of oxygen was studied. Of several metal oxide additives, the addition of In₂O₃ enhanced drastically the activity of Ga₂O₃–Al₂O₃ for NO reduction by propene in the presence of H₂O. In addition, the activity of In₂O₃‐doped Ga₂O₃–Al₂O₃ catalyst was extremely intensified by the presence of H₂O below 350°C. The promotional effect of H₂O was interpreted by the suppression of undesirable propene oxidation and the removal of carbonaceous materials deposited on the catalyst surface. We also found that close interaction of In₂O₃ and Ga₂O₃ is necessary for the enhancement of activity by H₂O. A lot of hydrocarbons except methane and oxygenated compounds served as good reducing agents, among which propene and 2‐propanol were the most efficient ones. In₂O₃‐doped Ga₂O₃–Al₂O₃ catalyst was capable of reducing NO into N₂ quite efficiently in the presence of H₂O at a very high space velocity. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Pd/Pt on Ti-containing Mixed Oxides as Dearomatization Catalysts: Physico-chemical Characterization and Activity

Pd/Pt supported on pure and doped TiO₂ (TiO₂–WO₃ and TiO₂–WO₃–SiO₂) were prepared and characterized by different techniques (XPS, TEM, XRD, H₂-TPR and TPD of ammonia). These catalysts were investigated in the hydrogenation of tetralin at 6.0 MPa, checking also their thio-tolerance by feeding increasing amounts of dibenzothiophene (DBT, 300 and 1000 wt ppm). The catalytic activity followed the order: Pd/Pt–TiO₂ > Pd/Pt–TiO₂–WO₃–SiO₂ > Pd/Pt–TiO₂–WO₃, evidencing a negative role of a second oxide inside TiO₂. The Pd/Pt–TiO₂ catalyst showed high activity regardless of reaction conditions (temperature, contact time, H₂/tetralin ratio) together with a good thio-tolerance up to 300 wt ppm of DBT.     

Performance of Ni catalyst supported on La-hexaaluminate in CO<Subscript>2</Subscript> reforming of CH<Subscript>4</Subscript>

CO₂ reforming of CH₄ was performed using Ni catalyst supported on La-hexaaluminate which has been an well-known material for high-temperature combustion. La-hexaaluminate was synthesized by sol-gel method at various conditions where different amount of Ni (5–20 wt%) was loaded. Ni/La-hexaaluminate experienced 72 h reaction and its catalytic activity was compared with that of Ni/Al₂O₃, Ni/La-hexaaluminate shows higher reforming activity and resistance to coke deposition compared to the Ni/Al₂O₃ model catalyst. Coke deposition increases proportionally to Ni content. Consequently, Ni(5)/La-hexaaluminate(700) is the most efficient catalyst among various Ni/La-hexaaluminate catalysts regarding the cost of Ni in Ni(X)/La-hexaaluminate catalysts. BET surface area, XRD, EA, TGA and TPO were performed for surface characterization. This work was presented at the 6 ^th Korea-China Workshop on Clean Energy Technology held at Busan, Korea, July 4–7, 2006.     

Novel Sn–Ce/Al2O3 Catalyst for the Selective Catalytic Reduction of NOx Under Lean Conditions

Effect of additives, Ce and Mn, on the catalytic performance of Sn/Al₂O₃ catalyst prepared by sol–gel method for the selective reduction of NO_x with propene under lean conditions was studied. Sn–Ce/Al₂O₃ catalysts exhibited higher activity than Sn/Al₂O₃ catalyst and the optimum Ce loading is 0.5–1%. The promoting effect of Ce is to enhance the oxidation of NO to NO₂ and facilitate the activation of propene, both of which are important steps for the NO_x reduction. The presence of oxygen contributes to the oxidation of NO and shows a promoting effect.     

Epoxidation of Propylene by Molecular Oxygen Over the Ag–Y2O3–K2O/α-Al2O3 Catalyst

Abstract The Ag/α-Al₂O₃ catalyst modified with rare earth metal oxide (Y₂O₃) and alkali metal oxide (K₂O) for the epoxidation of propylene by molecular oxygen were prepared and characterized by TG-DTA, XRD and XPS. The results show that a small quantity of Y₂O₃ added plays a role of electron and structure-type promoters, and can change the binding energies of Ag3d and restrain the sintering of Ag crystallites during catalyst preparation. The effects of promoters loading, Ag loading, reaction temperature, and calcination atmosphere on the performance of Ag catalyst were investigated. The results show that the loadings of K₂O, Y₂O₃ and Ag, and reaction temperature affect obviously the catalytic performance of Ag–Y₂O₃–K₂O/α-Al₂O₃ for the epoxidation of propylene to propylene oxide. Under the reaction conditions of 0.1 MPa, 245 °C, GHSV of 2000 h⁻¹ and the feed gas of 20%C₃H₆/8%O₂/N₂, the conversion of propylene of 4% and the selectivity to propylene oxide of 46.8% were achieved over the 20%Ag–0.1%Y₂O₃–0.1%K₂O/α-Al₂O₃ catalyst. Graphical Abstract Y₂O₃ plays a role of electron and structure-type promoters in the Ag–Y₂O₃–K₂O/α-Al₂O₃ catalyst, which can change the binding energies of Ag3d and restrain the sintering of Ag crystallites, resulting in obvious improvement of the catalytic performance of Ag–Y₂O₃–K₂O/α-Al₂O₃ for the epoxidation of propylene to propylene oxide by molecular oxygen.      

Regeneration behaviors of Fe/Si‐2 and Fe–Mn/Si‐2 catalysts for C2H6 dehydrogenation with CO2 to C2H4

The catalytic performance of Fe/Si‐2 and Fe–Mn/Si‐2 catalysts for conversion of C₂H₆ with CO₂ to C₂H₄ was examined in a continuous‐flow and fixed‐bed reactor. The results show that the Fe–Mn/Si‐2 catalyst exhibits much better reaction activity and selectivity to C₂H₄ than those of the Fe/Si‐2 catalyst. Furthermore, the coking–decoking behaviors of these catalysts were studied through TG. The catalytic performances of the catalysts after regeneration for conversion of C₂H₆ or dilute C₂H₆ in FCC off‐gas with CO₂ to C₂H₄ were also examined. The results show that both activity and selectivity of the Fe–Mn/Si‐2 catalyst after regeneration reached the same level as those of the fresh catalyst, whereas it is difficult for the Fe/Si‐2 catalyst to refresh its reaction behavior after regeneration. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

The oxidative dehydrogenation of ethane with CO2 over Mo2C/SiO2 catalyst

Mo₂C prepared on SiO₂ was found to be an effective catalyst for the dehydrogenation of ethane to produce ethylene in the presence of CO₂. The selectivity to ethylene at 850–923 K was 90–95% at an ethane conversion of 8–30%. With the increase of the temperature the dry reforming of ethane became also a significant process. It is assumed that the Mo oxycarbide formed in the reaction between CO₂ and Mo₂C plays an important role in the activation of ethane. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Promotional effect of Ce on the activity of In/W–ZrO2 for selective reduction of NO x with methane

The Ce modified In/W–ZrO₂ catalysts were prepared by impregnation and mechanical mix method. Their activities for SCR of NO _x with methane were investigated. The activity of the In/W–ZrO₂ catalyst was enhanced by addition of Ce with both methods, while the promotional effect was more pronounced for catalyst prepared by mechanical mix method compared to impregnation method. The function of Ce was to improve the oxidation of NO to NO₂. The maximum NO _x conversion over the mechanical mixed catalyst can be stabilized at 74% at 450 °C in a dry gas flow and 37% at 500 °C in wet flow (24,000 h⁻¹). For the impregnated catalysts, Ce was found to compete with In to adsorb on strong acid site over W–ZrO₂ support and inhibited the formation of InO⁺, which resulted in the lower activity of these catalysts than mechanical mixed catalysts.     

From Electron Density Flow Towards Activation: Benzene Interacting with Cu(I) and Ag(I) Sites in ZSM-5. DFT Modeling

The effects of support pretreatment with nC₁–C₅ alcohols on the performance of Rh–Mn–Li/SiO₂ catalyst in the synthesis of C₂-oxygenates from syngas have been investigated by CO hydrogenation reaction, transmission electron microscopy (TEM), pulse adsorption of CO and H₂, and Fourier Transform infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy. The catalysts prepared from the pretreated silica supports exhibited higher space time yields of C₂-oxygenates (STY_C2-oxy) and selectivities towards C₂-oxygenates (S_C2-oxy) than that prepared from the untreated silica support. The enhancement in the hydrophobicity of the pretreated silica supports would be favorable for increasing Rh dispersion and ratio of Rh⁺/Rh⁰ sites, therefore increasing the number of active sites, especially the active sites for CO insertion. Such variations are responsible for the improvements in the catalytic performance of the Rh–Mn–Li/SiO₂ catalyst.     

CO2 effect on activity and stability of NOx storage reduction catalysts

A catalyst for NO_x storage/reduction was prepared to improve the activity of Ba–Pt/γ-Al₂O₃ by replacing Ba with a mixture of Ba and Mg. The catalyst was prepared by impregnating Pt and then co-impregnating Ba and Mg (Mg:Ba molar ratio = 1) on commercial γ-Al₂O₃. The tests have been carried out in the presence of CO₂ at temperatures between 200 and 400 °C in order to understand the role of both the feed and various alkaline-earth metals. The storage capacity of the two catalysts was different like the mechanism in the reduction process.