Hydrocarbon hydrotreating catalyst composition

Abstract

Heavy oil feedstocks containing at least 20 ppm metals, particularly residuum feedstocks, are hydrodesulfurized using a catalyst prepared by impregnating Group VIb and Group VIII metals or metal compounds into a support comprising alumina wherein the support has at least 70 volume percent of its pore volume in pores having a diameter between 80 and 150 Angstroms and less than 3 volume percent of its pore volume in pores having a diameter above 1000 Angstroms. The catalyst preferably has at least 80 volume percent of its pore volume in pores having a diameter between 80 and 150 Angstroms and less than 1.5 volume percent of its pore volume in pores having a diameter above 1000 Angstroms. An especially outstanding hydrodesulfurization catalyst in terms of very low deactivation rate is attained by using an alumina support of the above pore size distribution or the above preferred pore size distribution and wherein the metals are impregnated into the catalyst in a single step impregnation using a solution of a cobalt or nickel salt and a heteropolymolybdic acid such as phosphomolybdic acid.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.