Slurry-Phase Hydrocracking of Heavy Oil with Bifunctional Catalysts In Situ Generated from Oil-Soluble Ionic Liquid and Mixed Metal Oxide

In this work, an oil-soluble ionic liquid (IL) was combined with mixed metal oxide for in situ generation of bifunctional catalysts for slurry-phase heavy oil hydrocracking. The oil-soluble IL selected was trihexylmethylammonium molybdate ([N-6661](2)MoO4), and the mixed metal oxide selected was SiO2-ZrO2. The performance of using [N-6661](2)MoO4 and SiO2-ZrO2 for slurry-phase hydrocracking was examined systematically. It is found that the addition of SiO2-ZrO2 can significantly improve the conversion of residue to distillate and the gas and coke yields are also improved. The MoS2/SiO2-ZrO2 bifunctional catalysts in situ generated in the reaction system were collected for detailed characterizations. The MoS2 slabs are in a highly dispersed and sulfurized status in the matrix of SiO2-ZrO2, and there are also abundant acidic sites in resultant bifunctional catalysts. The kinetics of slurry-phase hydrocracking was further investigated to disclose the reaction routes for the conversion of residue and the role of adding SiO2-ZrO2 in promoting the hydrocracking reactions.