Abstract
Due to their weak polarity and large surface area, activated carbon supports have the potential to enhance the dispersion of metal-sulfides. It is expected that the absence of a strong metal-support interaction can result in the formation of a very active and stable Ni-Mo-S phase. In this study, catalysts with different amounts of nickel and molybdenum supported on a commercial activated carbon were prepared by a co-impregnation method and characterized by BET, XRF, and SEM techniques. The catalytic activity for hydroprocessing of Jatropha oil was evaluated in a batch reactor, and the composition of the liquid and gaseous products were determined. Results showed that gaseous products are mainly composed of high amounts of propane and small amounts of other light hydrocarbons (C1 to C5). Liquid hydrocarbon products consisted of a mixture containing mainly n-paraffins of C15-C18 and some oxygenated compounds. The catalysts with a mass fractionof 3 % Ni, 15 % Mo (Ni3Mo15/AC) presented the highest selectivity toward C17-C18 hydrocarbons, with a product distribution similar to a commercial
alumina-supported Ni-Mo-S catalyst.
Univ. Sci. is registered under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International Public License. Thus, this work may be reproduced, distributed, and publicly shared in digital format, as long as the names of the authors and Pontificia Universidad Javeriana are acknowledged. Others are allowed to quote, adapt, transform, auto-archive, republish, and create based on this material, for any purpose (even commercial ones), provided the authorship is duly acknowledged, a link to the original work is provided, and it is specified if changes have been made. Pontificia Universidad Javeriana does not hold the rights of published works and the authors are solely responsible for the contents of their works; they keep the moral, intellectual, privacy, and publicity rights. Approving the intervention of the work (review, copy-editing, translation, layout) and the following outreach, are granted through an use license and not through an assignment of rights. This means the journal and Pontificia Universidad Javeriana cannot be held responsible for any ethical malpractice by the authors. As a consequence of the protection granted by the use license, the journal is not required to publish recantations or modify information already published, unless the errata stems from the editorial management process. Publishing contents in this journal does not generate royalties for contributors.