Regeneration of spent hydrodesulfurization catalysts employing presulfiding treatment and heteropoly acids

摘要

The removal of metals, especially vanadium, from spent hydrofining catalyst is accomplished by a two-step process. Treatment with a gaseous sulfur-containing reagent brings the metals to the surface of the catalyst and converts them to sulfides, which are then efficiently removed by contact with a heteropoly acid such as molybdophosphoric acid. Treatment of deactivated hydrodesulfurization catalysts such as Co-Mo supported on alumina by this process results in substantially complete regeneration of catalytic activity.