Simultaneous removal of sulfides and benzene in FCC gasoline by in situ hydrogenation over NiLaIn/ZrO₂-r-Al₂O₃

Highlights: • The research octane number of FCC gasoline increased by 2 units. • The desulfurization ratio reached 100%, and sulfur content reached "Zero". • The selectivity of dimethylbutane and toluene was 48.9% and 50.9%, espectively. • The r-Al₂O₃-ZrO₂ modified with Ni, La and In shows better activity and stability. - Abstract: The ZrO₂-r-Al₂O₃ composite was developed and co-modified with nickel, lanthanum and indium species by the impregnation method. A fixed-bed reactor was utilized to investigate the activity of the resulting catalysts in the removal of sulfides and benzene in fluid catalytic cracking gasoline. The resultant samples were characterized using XRD, TEM, XPS, TGA, H₂-TPR, NH₃-TPD and N₂ adsorption/desorption techniques. XRD analysis indicated no agglomeration of Ni and La species, in good agreement with the TEM image. Only under the suitable conditions of a metal loading of 15%, a reaction temperature of 423 K, a reaction time of 60 min, a space velocity of 3 h⁻¹, and a reaction pressure of 1 MPa, could the desulfurization ratio, the debenzolization ratio, and selectivity of benzene to dimethylbutane and toluene reach 100%, 19.9%, 48.9% and 50.9%, respectively, and research octane number of the product increased by 2 units and sulfur content reached "Zero". The catalyst was actively involved in the in-situ hydrogenation under mild conditions and used for 30 h with no loss in activity. This remarkable behavior makes the NiLaIn/ZrO₂-r-Al₂O₃ family a potential candidate for industrial application as catalysts in the clean fuel.