Hydroprocessing catalysis by supported ruthenium sulphide

Abstract Ruthenium sulphide catalysed hydrodenitrogenation (HDN) of quinoline and hydrodesulphurization (HDS) of benzothiophene were studied using a batch autoclave (cold filled with 3448 kPa of hydrogen), at 350 400 ° C and 300 350 ° C , respectively. Ruthenium from various precursors—[Ru Cl 3 x H 2 O], [Ru 3 (CO) 12 ], [Ru(NH 3 ) 6 ] 3+ —was supported on Y-zeolite and γ-Al 2 O 3 , and then sulphided. The catalysts were highly active for HDN but not for HDS by comparison with a conventional NiMo Al 2 O 3 formulation. The results were attained with metal loadings (~5%) much lower than those used in conventional hydroprocessing catalysts. Physical combination of the most active catalyst, ruthenium sulphide supported on Y-zeolite, with sulphided nickel molybdate on alumina resulted in a catalyst system with greatly enhanced activity for HDN.