Mechanical alloying: an alternative method to produce Ni-Mo-W HDS catalysts

In this work, quaternary alloys of Ni-Mo-W-Al were prepared by mechanical alloying. In addition, a process of chemical extraction by alkaline leaching was applied to remove aluminum in order to increase the specific surface area (Ssa) and to generate porous materials, which were tested in the dibenzothiophene (DBT) hydrodesulfurization (HDS) reaction to determine their catalytic activity and selectivity. This study reveals the impact of the surface and structural modification of quaternary alloys on the catalyst performance and serves as well, as guidance for the design of novel HDS catalysts. X-ray diffraction characterization was performed in a Phillips X-Pert MPD diffractometer. (author)