Preparation and Characterization of NiMo/Al2O3Catalyst for Hydrocracking Processing

¹ Laboratory of Advance Material, Central Laboratory for Research and Service, Diponegoro University, Semarang - Indonesia
² Departement of Chemical Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Diponegoro University, Semarang - Indonesia.

^* Corresponding author: yayat_99@yahoo.com

Abstract

Hydrocracking is a chemical process used in petroleum refineries for converting high boiling hydrocarbons in petroleum crude oils to more valuable lower boiling products such as gasoline, kerosene, and diesel oil that operate at high temperature and pressure. Catalyst was used in hydrocracking to reduce temperature and pressure. Hydrocracking catalyst are composed of active components and support. Alumina is widely used in hydrocracking process as catalyst support due to its high surface area, high thermal stability, and low prices. The objective of this research was preparated NiMo/Al₂O₃ catalyst that used as hydrocracking catalyst. Catalyst was synthesized by wetness impregnation method and simple heating method with various kind of Al₂O₃. The physicochemical properties of catalyst were investigated by X-ray diffraction (XRD) to determine type of crystal and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) to determine morphology of the catalyst. The NiMo/Al₂O₃ catalyst prepared by aluminium potassium sulfate dodecahydrate exhibited the highest crystallinity of 90.23% and it is clear that MoO₃ and NiO crystallites are highly dispersed on the NiMo/Al₂O₃ catalyst which indicates as the best catalyst. The catalytic activity in hydrocracking process was successfully examined to convert fatty acid into hydrocarbon.