Impact of a dam breaking wave on a big reservoir

Six industrial hydrotreating catalysts - Ni- Mo/Al2O3 were evaluated for their activity towards hydrodesulfurization (HDS), hydrodenitrogenation (HDN), and polynuclear aromatics (PNA) reduction. The feedstock was gas oil (249 - 524 degree C) from a hydrocracked 50/50 mixture of Cold Lake/Lloydminister atmospheric residue. The reactions were carried out in a continuous fixed-bed reactor operating in an upflow mode. Results from the experimental runs are presented. HDN, PNA reduction and HDS correlated with molybdenum surface coverage, while chemical hydrogen consumption depended on the phosphorus content of the catalyst. Coke deposition on the catalyst surface showed an inverse dependence with phosphorus loading per unit area. The influences of the Ni-Mo ratio, phosphorus content, pore size, pore size distribution and surface area of the fresh catalysts on their performance are examined. Catalyst performance as measured by the reduction of aromatics, sulfur and nitrogen is discussed. A choice of the most active catalyst was based on results from 1000 h time-on-stream runs and the properties of the spent catalysts. 24 refs., 10 figs., 4 tabs