Characterization of hydrotreating catalysts using the principal component analysis Original Research Article

A variety of Mo–Ni, Mo–Co, W–Ni and W–Co catalysts supported on γ-Al2O3, SiO2, ZrO2, ZrO2–8 mol% Y2O3 extrudates, which were either commercial products or prepared in the laboratory, were used for the hydrotreatment of a spent lube oil in a batch reactor at 880 psi and 330°C. The principal component analysis (PCA) method was used to illustrate the differences in the performance of the catalysts, based on a number of physical and chemical properties of the reaction products along with the hydroconsumption kinetic constants. The analysis classified the performance of the catalysts and showed that the industrially used catalyst Mo–Ni/γ-Al2O3 and the catalysts Mo–Ni/ZrO2, Mo–Ni/ZrO2 and W–Ni/γ-Al2O3 exhibit the advantageous behavior of efficiently removing sulfur and ensure adequate hydrogenation with the lowest hydrogen consumption. Strong correlation was also observed between the aromatic group content, sulfur content, density, refractive index and viscosity at 40°C of the hydrofinished products.