Hydrous metal oxide catalysts for direct coal liquefaction

Because of their high surface areas and versatility for the dispersion of any metal or combination of metals, hydrous metal oxide (HMO) ion exchangers provide a promising support system for preparation of coal liquefaction catalysts. This paper reports progress in preparation, pretreatment, and testing of catalysts synthesized from one member of the HMO system, hydrous titanium oxides (HTOs). Results of a preliminary bench-scale coal resid upgrading test with a base metal HTO catalyst and subsequent experiments to determine the impact of calcining conditions on hydrodesulfurization (HDS) activity are described. Three catalysts were prepared for these experiments: a trimetallic CoNiMo/HTO (0.9% Co, 1.1% Ni, and 10.6% Mo, wt % volatile free basis) for the bench-scale coal residuum upgrading test and two NiMo/HTOs (one with 7.9% Ni, 10.0% Mo and the other with 4.6% Ni, 9.3% Mo) for the experiments to determine the impact of calcining conditions on HDS activity. 6 refs., 2 figs.