Synthesis of nickel–tungsten sulfide hydrodearomatization catalysts by the decomposition of oil-soluble precursors

Nickel–tungsten sulfide catalysts for the hydrogenation of aromatic hydrocarbons have been prepared by the in situ decomposition of an oil-soluble tungsten hexacarbonyl precursor in a hydrocarbon feedstock using oil-soluble nickel salt nickel(II) 2-ethylhexanoate as a source of nickel. The in situ synthesized Ni–W–S catalyst has been characterized by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. The activity of the resulting catalysts has been studied in the hydrogenation of bicyclic aromatic hydrocarbons and dibenzothiophene conversion in a batch reactor at a temperature of 350°C and a hydrogen pressure of 5.0 MPa. It has been shown that the optimum W : Ni molar ratio is 1 : 2. Using the example of the hydrofining of feedstock with high sulfur and aromatics contents, it has been shown that the synthesized catalyst exhibits high activity in the hydrogenation of aromatic hydrocarbons.