Support chemistry, surface area, and preparation effects on sulfided NiMo catalyst activity

Hydrous Metal Oxides (HMOs) are chemically synthesized materials which contain a homogeneous distribution of ion exchangeable alkali cations that provide charge compensation to the metal-oxygen framework. In terms of the major types of inorganic ion exchangers defined by Clearfield, these amorphous HMO materials are similar to both hydrous oxides and layered oxide ion exchangers (e.g., alkali metal titanates). For catalyst applications, the HMO material serves as an ion exchangeable support which facilitates the uniform incorporation of catalyst precursor species. Following catalyst precursor incorporation, an activation step is required to convert the catalyst precursor to the desired active phase. Considerable process development activities at Sandia National Laboratories related to HMO materials have resulted in bulk hydrous titanium oxide (HTO)- and silica-doped hydrous titanium oxide (HTO:Si)-supported NiMo catalysts that are more active in model reactions which simulate direct coal liquefaction (e.g., pyrene hydrogenation) than commercial {gamma}-Al{sub 2}O{sub 3}-supported NiMo catalysts. However, a fundamental explanation does not exist for the enhanced activity of these novel catalyst materials; possible reasons include fundamental differences in support chemistry relative to commercial oxides, high surface area, or catalyst preparation effects (ion exchange vs. incipient wetness impregnation techniques). The goals of this paper are to identify the key factors which control sulfided NiMo catalyst activity, including those characteristics of HTO- and HTO:Si-supported NiMo catalysts which uniquely set them apart from conventional oxide supports