Catalysis by transition metal sulfides from molecular theroy to industrial application

The main application of Transition Metal Sulphides (TMS) as solid catalysts is for production of clean fuels in petroleum refineries. The various feedstocks to be processed all contain more or less sulphur, included in highly stable heteroaromatic molecules. In order to meet the stringent specifications imposed worldwide nowadays on transportation fuels to reduce their environmental impact, catalytic hydroprocessing remains essential. In this process, sulphur is removed as H2S following the reaction between molecular hydrogen and the heteroaromatics. The reaction conditions and reaction medium composition are such that only TMS provide stable catalysts, generally supported on alumina. Both for their fundamental and applied interest, these fascinating systems are still the subject of a very significant research effort, while major advances have been made over the past 30 years, involving innovative preparation routes, sophisticated surface science experiments for characterisation, detailed kinetic and mechanistic studies, and state of the art DFT simulations giving unprecedented insight into the local structure as well as elementary steps at microscopic level.
This book aims at providing a complete, comprehensive and updated survey of the field, useful for anyone involved: the student starting a research project, the academic researcher or the refinery engineer willing to deepen their knowledge on the catalytic as well as on the process aspects. It is therefore organised into three parts: I - Fundamental Aspects, II - Progress in the Preparation and Characterisation, and III - Applications to the Production of Clean Fuels. 37 specialists from IFP Energies nouvelles, CNRS, or French universities have contributed, reporting a unique synthesis of the last 15 years of research. The preface written by Michèle Breysse, a well known leading scientist who devoted most of her fruitful career to this topic, puts this collective work into a meaningful historical perspective.