Hydrodesulfurization of model diesel using Pt/Al2O3 catalysts prepared by supercritical deposition

Pt/Al₂O₃ catalysts with Pt loadings ranging from 0.5 to 11 wt.% were synthesized by supercritical carbon dioxide (scCO₂) deposition method. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) images showed that the synthesized catalysts contained small Pt nanoparticles (1–4 nm in diameter) with a narrow size distribution, no observable agglomeration, and uniformly dispersed on the alumina support. The catalysts were found to be active for hydrodesulfurization of dibenzothiophene (DBT) dissolved in n-hexadecane (n-HD) without sulfiding the metal phase. The reaction proceeded only via the direct hydrogenolysis route in the temperature range 310–400 °C and at atmospheric pressure. The activity increased with increasing the metal loading. Increasing [H₂]₀/[DBT]₀ by either increasing [H₂]₀ or decreasing [DBT]₀, increased the DBT conversion. At a fixed weight hourly space velocity and feed concentration, conversion did not increase with increasing temperature beyond 330 °C. The presence of toluene inhibited the catalyst activity presumably due to competitive adsorption between DBT and toluene. Under the operating conditions, the reaction was far from equilibrium.