Hydrodesulfurization (HDS) and hydrodenitrogenation (HDN) are the primary catalytic hydrotreating processes that have been heavily investigated because of the environmental concerns associated with the combustion of organonitrogen and organosulfur compounds and because these types of compounds are the major impurities in traditional petroleum feedstocks. Hydrodeoxgenation (HDO) processes are also becoming very important since in nonconventional feedstocks,  organooxygen compounds constitute the primary impurities and their removal is essential to maintaining the stability of commercial fuels and achieving the purity levels required for chemical applications.

Our research focus is on elucidating reaction networks of model heteroatom compounds found in petroleum feedstocks.  We examine the relative importance of different reaction pathways under operating conditions that are close to those used in the industry. We then correlate the catalyst performance to parameters such as sulfidation/reduction conditions, reaction temperature/pressure, and bulk/surface characteristics of the catalyst. 

Hydrogenation of aldehydes resulting from the “Oxo” process is a reaction with important industrial applications. The copper chromite catalysts which are active for hydrogenation are very sensitive to sulfur poisoning.  Sulfided Ni-Mo catalyst provide sulfur-resistant alternatives, however, a major problem is the selectivity loss due to side reactions.  Our research focuses on correlating these side reactions with specific surface sites and establishing catalyst synthesis parameters to modify these sites.

Correlation of hexanal hydrogenation with NO and CO₂ adsorption sites over sulfided Ni-Mo catalysts.