Physical-chemical properties and catalytic activity of the Ni-Co-CB material

Carbon materials are widely used in catalysis as a support for active catalyst components due to their chemical inertness and developed surface. The most common carbon carriers are represented by activated carbons, carbon black and various carbon-carbon composites. In petrochemistry, carbon materials are also employed as catalysts to oxidize sulfur compounds contained in heavy fractions of oil being refined. In this regard, the present paper discusses the issues of metal-carbon composite material manufacturing. Technical carbon, or carbon black (CB), was used as a carbon support, the surface of which was modified with nickel and cobalt. The resulting composite material, Ni-Co-CB, has a high specific surface area comparable to that of the pristine carbon material, thereby favoring its catalytic activity. The high catalytic activity of the composite material developed was observed during oxidative desulfurization of heavy oil feedstock. Hence, the degree of sulfur removal for fuel oil was found to be 82.7 %, whereas for oil it reached 70.7 %.