Probe Reactions for C-C Bond Cleavage and Aromatic Hydrogenation over Mo-based Carbide and Sulfide Catalysts

Molybdenum based sulfide catalysts are widely used in hydroprocessing of petroleum fractions in the refining industry. Cleavage of aromatic-aliphatic or aliphatic-aliphatic C-C bonds is very important for catalytic hydroprocessing and upgrading of heavy oil. Probe molecular reactions for C-C bond cleavage and aromatic ring hydrogenation over Mo-based carbide and sulfur catalysts were examined. 4-(1-Naphthylmethyl)bibenzyl (NMBB) was used to simulate the structure in heavy hydrocarbon resources. Hydrogenolysis and hydrogenation properties of multiple catalysts were performed at 375° and 400°C. Three metal sulfide catalysts were studied, including dispersed MoS₂ catalyst derived in-situ from ammonium tetrathiomolybdate and sulfided Co-Mo/Al₂O₃ and Ni-Mo/Al₂O₃ catalysts. The total yields of naphthalene and tetralin were almost over 70% and 4-methylbibenzyl close to or over 50% in most catalytic runs, indicating that the cleavage of NMBB mainly products from 4-methylbibenzyl were detected from the GC-occurs on the aromatic-aliphatic bond.