Date on Master's Thesis/Doctoral Dissertation
7-2011
Document Type
Master's Thesis
Degree Name
M. Eng.
Department
Chemical Engineering
Committee Chair
Sunkara, Mahendra K.
Author's Keywords
Zinc oxide nanowires; Reactive adsorption; Sulfur removal; Zeta-potential; Sintering of catalyst; Organic sulfur species
Subject
Diesel fuels--Desulfurization; Petroleum--Refining--Desulfurization; Nickel catalysts; Nanowires
Abstract
A novel catalyst with hydro-desulfurization and hydrogenation capabilities was tested with the aim of producing ultra-low sulfur and aromatics diesel oil. The catalytically active phase is nickel in a reduced valence state on a carrier made of zinc oxide nanowires and alumina. Based on the reactive adsorption principle, it was speculated that enhanced metal-support interactions and short diffusion paths between nickel and zinc oxide could lead to improved activity and sulfur uptake capacity. Zinc oxide nanowires, proposed here as a novel catalyst support, were produced in appreciable quantities in a microwave-induced plasma jet reactor. After purification and decoration with an active nickel phase, the nanowires underwent extensive characterization, which revealed promising properties. On-stream hydrogenation activity and sulfur uptake was tested on a model diesel oil spiked with difficult-to-remove organic sulfur species. It was observed that the proposed catalyst system, as it was assembled in this project, is inferior to existing hydro-desulfurization products. Nevertheless, this undertaking was a first crude attempt and the concept of reactive adsorption was sufficiently demonstrated, which can hopefully be improved upon with succeeding trials.
Recommended Citation
Petzold, Franz Georg 1979-, "Novel catalyst for the removal of aromatic sulfur species from refinery streams." (2011). Electronic Theses and Dissertations. Paper 1122.
https://doi.org/10.18297/etd/1122
