Catalysts for aromatics hydrogenation in presence of sulfur: reactivities of nanoparticles of ruthenium metal and sulfide dispersed in acidic Y zeolites

Zeolite-supported ruthenium sulfide and ruthenium metal catalysts were prepared with various Si/Al ratios, with and without extra-framework Al species. They were characterized by means of NMR, HRTEM and FTIR. For the sulfided catalysts, the activity for the tetralin hydrogenation, carried out in presence of H 2S was very high and roughly 10 times the activity (expressed per gram of catalyst) of an industrial hydrotreating catalyst, i.e. NiMo/Al 2O 3. The differences in activities within the series of zeolites were discussed in terms of dispersion of the active phase and acidity of the zeolitic support. The catalytic properties of the metal catalysts were much lower than those of the sulfided catalysts in similar testing conditions.