Study of the selectivity in FCC naphtha hydrotreating by modifying the acid–base balance of CoMo/γ-Al2O3 catalysts Original Research Article

CoMo catalysts supported on a commercial γ-Al2O3 modified with B, Na or K were prepared in order to analyze the effect of acid–base characteristics on the FCC naphtha hydrotreatment. Catalysts were characterized by NH3 TPD, IR of pre-adsorbed pyridine and CO2, XPS, Raman, and XRD. In general, with either boron or alkaline metal modification the HDS/HYDO selectivity did not significantly improve. However, it is remarkable that when the alumina was modified to be either more acidic (B) or more basic (K, Na), improvements in the ratio between the HDS and the conversion of the internal branched olefin as well as in the ratio double-bond isomerization to HYD of linear olefins were observed. For both modifications, this fact was related to the promotion of the double-bond isomerization reaction from external to internal positions. For alkaline-doped catalysts, it was found that the double-bond isomerization was related to the existence of basic sites. For the boron, there is a range of boria content (2–3 wt.%) where the double-bond isomerization was promoted selectively over the cracking and alkylation reactions because only weak Brönsted acid sites are present. Additionally, both modifications (Boron or alkaline metals) of alumina led to a decrease in the HDS activity, which was found to be related to changes in the distribution of Co and Mo species in the oxide state. Alkaline metal introduction led to the formation of alkaline metal molybdates, whereas boron introduction increased the proportion of octahedral polymeric Mo species, consequently, decreasing the dispersion of the Mo phase.