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Tuning of the active phase structure and hydrofining performance of alumina-supported tri-metallic WMoNi catalysts via phosphorus incorporation

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Abstract

The effects of phosphorus on the structure and hydrofining performance of tri-metallic WMoNi/Al2O3 catalysts prepared with W/Mo-based hybrid precursor nanocrystals were investigated. The incorporation of phosphorus weakened the metal-support interactions (MSIs) and facilitated the formation of more synergetic NiWMoS phases with higher stacks. Catalytic tests using a fluid catalytic cracking diesel fuel showed that the changes in the MSIs and the morphology of the active phases had a more positive effect on the hydrodenitrogenation activity than on the hydrodesulfurization activity. In contrast, when phosphorus was incorporated into a tri-metallic WMoNiP/ Al2O3 catalyst prepared by a conventional incipient impregnation method, the MSIs decreased causing aggregation of the metal species which resulted in poorer hydrofining performance of the catalyst. These results show that incorporating phosphorus into a WMoNi/Al2O3 catalyst can finely tune the structure of the active phase to enhance the hydrogenation and hydrodenitrogenation activity of the resulting tri-metallic catalyst.

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Acknowledgements

We gratefully acknowledge the support from the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant Nos. U1462203 and 21106182).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. State Key Laboratory of Heavy Oil Processing, China University of Petroleum, Beijing, 102249, China

    Shufeng Shan, Haiyan Liu & Gang Shi

  2. State Key Laboratory of Energy & Environmental Photocatalysis, Fuzhou University, Fuzhou, 350116, China

    Xiaojun Bao

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  1. Shufeng Shan
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Correspondence to Haiyan Liu or Xiaojun Bao.

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Shan, S., Liu, H., Shi, G. et al. Tuning of the active phase structure and hydrofining performance of alumina-supported tri-metallic WMoNi catalysts via phosphorus incorporation. Front. Chem. Sci. Eng. 12, 59–69 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11705-017-1686-3

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