Hydrodesulphurization of Bonny light crude oil using nano Co–Mo supported on zeolite synthesized from Akoko clay

At present, petroleum remains the single largest global source of nearly all transportation fuel and the main source of industrial chemicals. But the legislative demand for cleaner fuel in automobile worldwide has forced scientists to develop and adopt new technologies to reduce the amount of sulphur in fuel. In this study, a Co–Mo catalyst supported on zeolite synthesized from local clay was developed and tested in hydrodesulphurization reactions, using Bonny light crude oil feed. The Co–Mo was incorporated into the zeolite by wet impregnation method and its activity was evaluated in a batch reactor. The catalyst was characterized and the efficiency was investigated in terms of product distribution and reaction conditions. With a rise in the temperature, the sulphur in the crude oil gets released into the liquid and gas effluents. In the case of gas effluents, the removal of sulphur depends on the reaction temperature, while in the liquid products, the removal of sulphur lies on the reaction time rather than the reaction temperature. The use of this catalyst results in significant upgraded and enhanced oil production with an environmentally friendly fuel, which therefore recommended as an alternative to conventional industrial catalysts.