Relationship between surface characteristics and catalytic properties of unsupported nickel-tungsten carbide catalysts for the hydrocracking of vacuum residue

Chan Hun Kim, Young Gul Hur, Kwan Young Lee

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    10 Citations (Scopus)

    Abstract

    The catalytic activity of tungsten carbide is known to resemble that of platinum. In a previous study, we found that the catalytic activity of tungsten carbide was influenced by its particle size. Alternatively, adding an appropriate amount of nickel to tungsten could increase the activity of tungsten carbide; however, detailed characterization was not performed to explain the enhanced catalytic activity from the addition of Ni. In this study, it was confirmed that hydrogen adsorption on the catalyst surface was strongly affected by the ratio of Ni/(Ni + W) on unsupported NiWC catalysts. When Ni was added, the adsorption of hydrogen and the carburization degree of NiWC increased; however, it was also observed through various analytical techniques — including XPS and H2-TPD — that the strong adsorption of hydrogen induced by WC was reduced. The negative effect of Ni addition was also observed; the addition of nickel could cause surface carbon deposition and severe aggregation of particles. Hence, an optimum ratio of Ni/(Ni + W) is required to maximize the catalytic activity of NiWC. In this study, the characteristics and catalytic activities of Ni-added tungsten carbide catalysts on the hydrocracking of vacuum residue were investigated using different Ni/(Ni + W) ratios. As a result, the yield of commercial liquid was maximized, and coke formation was significantly reduced for the NiWC(20) catalyst with a Ni/(Ni + W) ratio of 23 mol.%.

    Original languageEnglish
    Article number122103
    JournalFuel
    Volume309
    DOIs
    Publication statusPublished - 2022 Feb 1

    Bibliographical note

    Funding Information:
    This work was supported by a National Research Foundation of Korea (NRF) grant funded by the Korean Government (NRF-2015R1A2A1A13001856). We thank SK Innovation Co. Ltd. for providing the vacuum residue samples.

    Funding Information:
    This work was supported by a National Research Foundation of Korea (NRF) grant funded by the Korean Government ( NRF-2015R1A2A1A13001856 ).

    Publisher Copyright:
    © 2021 Elsevier Ltd

    Keywords

    • Extra-heavy oil
    • Hydrocracking
    • Nickel
    • Tungsten carbide
    • Unsupported catalyst
    • Vacuum residue

    ASJC Scopus subject areas

    • General Chemical Engineering
    • Fuel Technology
    • Energy Engineering and Power Technology
    • Organic Chemistry

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