Formation and properties of nanosized particles of heavy feedstock conversion catalysts dispersed in a hydrocarbon medium

Efforts in the fields of synthesizing and using nanosized catalyst particles in hydroconversion have intensified in recent years. In this work, we study in detail the formation of dispersed Mo, Al, Fe, Co, and Ni oxide phases with particle sizes of 100–1000 nm via the thermal decomposition of inverted microemulsions based on synthetic surfactants and pentadecane at 200–250°C and metal contents of no more than 0.05 wt %. Native oil stabilizers of a hydrocarbon microemulsion phase (asphaltenes, light gasoil, and goudron components) reduce the sizes of synthesized particles to 127–200 nm and allow the metal content in a stable suspension to be increased to 2 wt %. Nanosized catalysts (MoS 2 with particle sizes of 10–50 nm along with combinations of Al-, Mo-, and Co(Ni)-containing systems) that display high activity in inhibiting the polymerization of high-molecular feedstock components, are synthesized under conditions of goudron hydro-conversion by means of inverted emulsions in situ.