Study on ultrasound-assisted precipitation for preparing Ni/Al2O3 catalyst

With the rapid development of oil hydrogenation industry, the development of oil hydrogenation catalyst has also become a research hotspot. In this paper, ultrasound-assisted precipitation technique is used to prepare Ni/Al₂O₃ catalyst. The effect of ultrasonic output power on catalyst performance is investigated. The prepared catalyst is applied to the hydrogenation reaction of castor oil. It is found that the prepared catalyst shows the best hydrogenation performance when ultrasonic output power, frequency and ultrasonic treatment time are 80 W, 40 kHz and 600 min respectively. It also indicates that ultrasound-assisted precipitation technique can reduce the particle size and increase the specific surface area of Ni/Al₂O₃ catalyst so that its activity is improved. In addition, six important elements that should be considered in the development of industrial oil refining catalysts are discussed, and the effects of these factors on the catalyst performance are discussed. Finally, new way for improving catalyst performance is given, and the application of some new materials and methods in oil refining is introduced.