Hydrogenation of aromatic compounds in the presence of dibenzothiophene over bimetallic catalysts containing mesoporous aluminosilicates

The hydrogenation of a mixture of naphthalene, tetralin, and toluene (a solution in n-heptane) in the presence of dibenzothiophene (150 and 400 ppm on a sulfur basis) over Pt-Pd catalysts containing Al-HMS mesoporous aluminosilicates has been studied. The catalyst supports contained 35 wt % Al-HMS and 65 wt % γ-Al₂O₃. The Pt and Pd loadings in the catalysts were 0.2 and 0.8 wt %, respectively. The process was carried out at 200–240°C, a pressure of 30 atm, and a weight hourly space velocity of 1.7 h^?1. It has been found that the catalyst based on Al-HMS with Si/Al = 10 exhibits the highest activity. Thus, in the hydrogenation of a model mixture containing 150 and 400 ppm of sulfur, the conversion of toluene at 240°C was 22.2 and 10.9 wt %, respectively. In the presence of this catalyst, the concentration of aromatic hydrocarbons in the hydrotreated diesel fraction decreased from 28.4 to 6.8 wt %, and the sulfur content decreased from 45 to 5 ppm.