Proefschrift
Atomic Insights into Hydrodesulfurization
Hydrodesulfurization (HDS) is an ubiquitous part of oil refining that ensures that fuels are cleaned of impurities and environment release of pollutants such as SOx and NOx gasses are minimized.
- Auteur
- Prabhu, M.K.
- Datum
- 03 juni 2021
- Links
- Thesis in Leiden Repository
Hydrodesulfurization (HDS) is an ubiquitous part of oil refining that ensures that fuels are cleaned of impurities and environment release of pollutants such as SOx and NOx gasses are minimized. In this thesis, atomic level insights into the process of HDS are gained by exploring various methods of generating the catalytically active CoMoS phase as well as the effect of the reaction gasses like hydrogen and methylthiol on the atomic structure of the catalyst at industrially relevant conditions. For this purpose, a variety of techniques such as high-pressure scanning tunneling microscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and electron diffraction are used. Furthermore, the studies presented in this thesis make several steps towards bridging the pressure and materials gap between the fundamental catalysis studies and industrial catalytic conditions. The results of this work pave way for more fundamental research with the help of theoretical methods such as DFT calculations which can help with designing more efficient catalysts to meet the future demands of clean fuels.