Influence of the Pore Structure of a Catalyst for Demetallization of Petroleum Feedstock on the Process Results

Demetallization of a mixture of vacuum gas oil with heavy coker gas oil on CoMo/γ-Al₂O₃ catalysts with different pore structures was studied, and the influence of the catalyst pore structure on the process results was demonstrated. For the demetallization catalysts to be effective, their pore size should be restricted not only from below but also from above. When using samples with broad pores, effects of the hydrodesulfurization and hydrodemetallization inhibition can arise owing to adsorption of supramolecular structures of heavy residues, in particular, of asphaltenes.