New Polyfunctional Nanocatalysts for the Hydrogen-Free Processing of N-Alkanes and Gasoline Fractions

Studies were conducted on the hydrogen-free processing of model alkanes, straight-run gasoline, and catalytic cracking gasoline using a new synthesized Co-Mo-Ce/ZSM + Al2O3 nanocatalyst, which demonstrated high activity in desulfurization. Thus, the mass fraction of sulfur in the resulting gasoline was reduced by almost three times compared to the initial value of 0.0776% to 0.0354% as a result of hydrogen-free processing of straight-run gasoline. The amount of sulfur in the resulting product was reduced by almost an order of magnitude with hydrogen-free processing of catalytic cracked gasoline: from 0.1650 in the original gasoline to 0.0123%. The octane number of the refined straight-run gasoline was 77.9–80.9 according to the research method (RM) and 61.13–65.8 with the motor method (MM). Physical and chemical methods of analysis (BET, TPD-NH3, TEM, SEM, and XRD) revealed that nano-structured acid sites coexist with nano-dispersed metallic sites on the surface of the Co-Mo-Ce/ZSM + Al2O3 catalyst. The functioning of these two types of nano-active sites (metallic and acidic) ensures the polyfunctionality of the catalytic action of the nanoparticles. The following reactions occur simultaneously in the hydrogen-free processing: isomerization, dehydrogenation, dehydrocyclization. Hydrogen-free processing of low-octane gasoline fractions on nanosized zeolite-containing catalysts is one of the most promising methods to obtain high-octane motor gasoline.