CONVERSION OF ATHABASCA BITUMEN WITH DISPERSED AND SUPPORTED MO-BASEDCATALYSTS AS A FUNCTION OF DISPERSED CATALYST CONCENTRATION

A hydrocracking study of Athabasca bitumen using a batch reactor with varying concentrations of a microdispersed metal sulfide catalyst (MoS 2) in the presence and absence of a common commercial supported cataly st is reported. The work compares the effects of a wide range of MoS2 dispersed catalyst concentrations (0-6000 ppm) on the conversion of re siduum and the effects of using that dispersed catalyst with a commerc ial extruded hydrogenation catalyst. Hydrocracking runs using only the MoS2 microdispersed catalyst showed reduced coke formation only at lo w Mo concentrations. In the presence of the supported catalyst, solids formation increased significantly and overall catalyst performance wa s lowered as a function of increased MoS2 microdispersed catalyst conc entration.