Hydrogenation of tetralin in presence of nitrogen using a noble-bimetallic couple over a Ti-modified SBA-15.

Abstract

The increased attention paid to catalytic hydrogenation in the oil refining industry is due in part to legislation regarding the maximum contents of sulfur, aromatic compounds, and alkenes in traffic fuels. Aromatics in diesel increase the particle emissions in exhaust gases and they have the further effect of lowering the fuel quality. Many factors such as the catalysts, process parameters, feedstock source and quality, reactivities of sulfur compounds, inhibition effects of H2S, nitrogen compounds and aromatics present in the feed, etc. can have significant influences on the degree of hydrogenation of diesel feeds1,2. Recently, studies have been reviewed and the investigations have also been extended to noble metals3 . In our previous investigations with bimetallic catalysts4 , we had very good results preparing the catalysts by co impregnation of the relevant metals on the SBA-15 mesoporous matrix. These studies showed high activity, selectivity and stability as well also greater resistance to poisons compared to monometallic catalysts. In this contribution titanium is incorporated in tetrahedral position replacing silicon in the mesoporous framework. We expect that Ti incorporation improve the dispersion of the bimetallic clusters. In the present work three compounds tetralin, indole and quinoline were used as models for the compounds in diesel. The model compounds were hydrogenated both separately and as mixtures in order to study the inhibition effect.