Effects of organometallic compounds on hydrodesulfurization of thiophene

Abstract

Effects of organometallic compounds on hydrodesulfurization of thiophene and coke formation on the catalyst were investigated in this study. The catalyst used in this reaction was a commercial Ni-Mo/alumina catalyst. Ferrocene, titanocene dichloride and vanadyl acetylacetonate were used to represent orgaometallic compounds containing iron, titanium and vanadium, respectively. The experiments were conducted in a trickle bed reactor at a temperature of 220 ๐C and a pressure of 3.45 MPa. Hydrogen gas and liquid feedstock flowrates were maintained at 400 ml/min and 30 ml/hr. The organometallic compounds were added directly to the feedstock to make solutions containing 100 ppm or metal. The results showed that addition of organometallic compounds to the feedstock affected both the catalyst activity and coke formation. The effects depended on the type of organometallic compounds. Both coke formation and hydrodesulfurization activity were reduced by the addition of titanocene dichloride.