89 “Nebula”: A hydroprocessing catalyst with breakthrough activity

Abstract In this paper a new catalyst technology called NEBULA is presented. It has been developed by ExxonMobil, Akzo Nobel and Nippon Ketjen. NEBULA is based on a novel copound and it is several times more active than the hydroprocessing catalysts used in today's industrial units. The new catalyst has a much higher activity for desulfurization, dentrogenation and hydrogenation than the conventional CoMo and NiMo on alumina catalysts. The NEBULA catalyst currently in use in several commercial installations represents the biggest step forward in hydroprocessing over the last years. In this paper we will focus on the development of the NEBULA technology and on the applications for which it is appropriate.