Ultra Deep Hydrodesulfurization of Gas Oils Over Sulfide and/or Noble Metal Catalysts

Deep hydrodesulfurization (HDS) of sterically hindered sulfur compounds in gas oils will require enhanced hydrogenation activity to hydrogenate the aromatic rings of the sulfur compounds. Although H₂S is known to inhibit the direct HDS route for most of the sulfided catalysts, its promotion to the hydrogenation and subsequent HDS was newly observed for unsupported MoS₂. This promotion suggests that ultra deep HDS over sulfide catalysts can be achieved along with high metal loading, minimal support-metal interactions and optimal dependence on the Ni species. On the other hand, the strong hydrogenation activity of sulfur-tolerant noble metal catalysts suggests that ultra deep HDS as well as deep aromatics saturation can be achieved. This paper discusses recent catalytic approaches for ultra deep HDS using conventional sulfide catalysts and/or noble metal catalysts, such as the newly developed Pd-Pt/Yb-USY zeolite catalyst.