The book provides the most up-to-date information on testing and development of hydroprocessing catalysts with the aim to improve performance of the conventional and modified catalysts as well as to develop novel catalytic formulations. Besides diverse chemical composition, special attention is devoted to pore size and pore volume distribution of the catalysts. Properties of the catalysts are discussed in terms of their suitability for upgrading heavy feeds. For this purpose atmospheric residue was chosen as the base for defining other heavy feeds which comprise vacuum gas oil, deasphalted oil and vacuum residues in addition to topped heavy crude and bitumen. Attention is paid to deactivation with the aim to extent catalyst life during the operation. Into consideration is taken the loss of activity due to fouling, metal deposition, coke formed as the result of chemical reaction and poisoning by nitrogen bases. Mathematical models were reviewed focussing on those which can simulate performance of the commercial operations. Configurations of hydroprocessing reactors were compared in terms of their capability to upgrade various heavy feeds providing that a suitable catalyst was selected. Strategies for regeneration, utilization and disposal of spent hydroprocesing catalysts were evaluated. Potential of the non-conventional hydroprocessing involving soluble/dispersed catalysts and biocatalysts in comparison with conventional methods were assessed to identify issues which prevent commercial utilization of the former. A separate chapter is devoted to catalytic dewaxing because the structure of dewaxing catalysts is rather different than that of hydroprocessing catalysts, i.e., the objective of catalytic dewaxing is different than that of the conventional hydroprocessing, The relevant information in the scientific literature is complemented with the Patent literature covering the development of catalysts and novel reactor configurations.
Separate chapter was added to distinguish upgrading capabilities of the residues catalytic cracking processes from those employing hydroprocessing. Upper limits on the content of carbon residue and metals in the feeds which can still be upgraded by the former processes differ markedly from those in the feeds which can be upgraded by hydroprocessing. It is necessary that the costs of modifications of catalytic cracking processes to accommodate heavier feeds are compared with that of hydroprocessing methods.
Objective of the short chapter on upgrading by carbon rejecting processes was to identify limits of contaminants in heavy feeds beyond which catalytic upgrading via hydroprocessing becomes uneconomical because of the costs of catalyst inventory and that of reactors and equipment.
- Comprehensive and most recent information on hydroprocessing catalysts for upgrading heavy petroleum feeds.
- Compares conventional, modified and novel catalysts for upgrading a wide range of heavy petroleum feeds.
- Comparison of conventional with non-conventional hydroprocessing, the latter involving soluble/dispersed catalysts and biocatalysts.
- Development and comparison of mathematical models
to simulate performance of catalytic reactors including most problematic feeds.
- Residues upgrading by catalytic cracking in comparison to hydroprocessing.

Fischer-Tropsch Synthesis (FTS) has been used on a commercial scale for more than eighty years. It was initially developed for strategic reasons because it offered a source of transportation fuels that was independent from crude oil. Unlike crude, Fischer-Tropsch synthetic crude is rich in olefins and oxygenates, while being sulphur and nitrogen free. Consequently, the catalysis involved in refining it is significantly different and only a few catalysts have been developed for the purpose. Until now, an account of this topic has been missing from the literature, despite mounting interest in the technology. This is the first book to provide a review and analysis of the literature (journal and patent) on the catalysis needed to refine syncrude to transportation fuels. It specifically highlights the impact of oxygenates and how oxygenates affect selectivity and deactivation. This aspect is also related to the refining of biomass derived liquids. Topics covered include: dimerisation / oligomerisation, isomerisation / hydroisomerisation, catalytic cracking / hydrocracking and hydrogenation, catalytic reforming, aromatic alkylation, etherification, dehydration, and some oxygenate and wax specific conversions.

Carbon materials have, in recent years, been attracting attention as potential supports in heterogeneous catalysis. In 2006, the number of articles dealing with various types of catalysts supported on carbon approached 1000, however only a fraction of those were devoted to hydroprocessing catalysts, despite the fact that interest in carbons as supports for hydroprocessing catalysts began more than two decades ago. This unique book is a comprehensive summary of recent research in the field and covers all areas of carbons and carbon materials. The potential application of carbon supports, particularly those of carbon black (CB) and activated carbon (AC) in hydroprocessing catalysis are covered extensively in the book. Novel carbon materials such as carbon fibers and carbon nano tubes (CNT) are also covered, including the more recent developments in the use of fullerenes in hydroprocessing applications - an area with little published research. Although the primary focus of this book is on carbons and carbon supported catalysts, it also identifies the difference in the effect of carbon supports compared with the oxidic supports, particularly that of y-AL2O3. Although many books claim to have the same objective, this publication is unique as the difference in catalyst activity and stability was estimated using both model compounds and real feeds under variable conditions. The conditions applied during the preparation of carbon supported catalysts are also comprehensively covered and include various methods of pretreatment of carbon supports to enhance catalyst performance. The model compounds results consistently show higher hydrodesulfurization and hydrodeoxygenation activities of carbon supported catalysts than that of the y-Al2O3 supported catalysts. Also, the deactivation of the former catalysts by coke deposition was much less evident. Importantly, in this book, most of the model compounds studies on hydrodesulfurization and hydrodeoxygenation were conducted in the absence of nitrogen compounds, as the poisoning effects of such compounds on hydroprocessing reactions are well known. Non-conventional metals (e.g., Pt, Pd, Ru, Rh, Re and Ir) supported on carbon supports are also studied in this book as catalysts for hydroprocessing of model feeds and real feeds. The book shows that these catalysts are much more active than conventional metals containing catalysts however the high cost of these metals prevents commercial utilization of these catalysts. Kinetics of hydroprocessing reactions, as well as kinetics of deactivation over carbon supported catalysts are also investigated under a wide range of experimental conditions and the y-Al2O3 supported catalysts have been included for comparison. This book, unique in its field, indicates the future potential of carbon supported catalysts during hydroprocessing, particularly in deep hydrodesulfurization and hydrodemetallization.

Handbook of Spent Hydroprocessing Catalysts, Second Edition, covers all aspects of spent hydroprocessing catalysts, both regenerable and non-regenerable. It contains detailed information on hazardous characteristics of spent and regenerated catalysts. The information forms a basis for determining processing options to make decisions on whether spent catalysts can be either reused on refinery site after regeneration or used as the source of new materials. For non-regenerable spent catalysts, attention is paid to safety and ecological implications of utilizing landfill and other waste handling and storage options to ensure environmental acceptance. As such, this handbook can be used as a benchmark document to develop threshold limits of regulated species.

Hydrogenation is a key reaction in both the food and petrochemical industries, where it is used to reduce carbon-carbon double bonds. Without a catalyst, hydrogenation reactions require extreme temperatures to occur, meaning catalysts are essential for the reaction to be industrially useful. During the past decade, the properties of many carbon nanomaterials that are relevant to hydrogenation catalysis have been described, including carbon nanotubes (CNTs), carbon nanofibers (CNFs), carbon nanohorns (CNHs), graphene oxide (GO), reduced graphene oxides (rGO) and fullerenes, that are relevant to hydrogenation catalysis, have been described. For many of these the production methods have advanced to the commercial stage. Numerous studies on the development of catalysts on carbon nano-supports have appeared in the scientific literature and these catalysts have shown remarkable activity and specificity. Carbon Nanomaterials in Hydrogenation Catalysis is a valuable reference for researchers and chemical engineers working on improving hydrogenation processes and those interested in applications for carbon nanomaterials. Covering their production, modification and applications as a catalyst support this book provides an in-depth review of the current state-of-the art in using carbon nanomaterials for hydrogenation reactions.