Kinetics of Bitumen‐Derived Gas Oil Upgrading Using a Commercial NiMo/Al₂O₃ Catalyst

Abstract

Abstract Hydrotreating (HT) kinetics of Athabasca bitumen‐derived gas oil has been studied between 340 to 420°C using a commercial NiMo/γ‐Al 2 O 3 catalyst. The kinetics analyses included overall conversion of high‐boiling species into low‐boiling products, hydrodenitrogenation (HDN) of total, basic and non‐basic nitrogen compounds and hydrodesulfurization (HDS). Three temperature regimes were marked out for the kinetic analyses: low (340‐370°C), intermediate (370‐400°C) and high (400‐420°C). The mechanism for the conversion of high to low‐boiling species was observed to change from one temperature regime to the other, giving rise to different activation energies. HDS and HDN activation energies increased in the order: high < low < intermediate severity temperature regime.