Syntheis of Liquid Fuel Products by the Catalytic Hydroliquefaction of Sapropels Using Nickel and Nickel–Tungsten Catalysts

Ni-containing catalysts are obtained on the basis of carbon mineral supports produced using sapropel and studied during the catalytic hydroliquefaction of sapropel. It is found that catalysts on supports obtained from mineral-type sapropel are more active than ones on supports based on organic-type sapropel, while bimetallic NiW catalysts exhibit higher activity than monometallic nickel catalysts, regardless of the nature of the support. It is shown that both the nature of the deposited metal and the support composition affect the conversion of the organic matter of sapropel and the composition of liquid products. The liquid products of hydroliquefaction contain mainly nitrogen- and oxygen-containing compounds. The maximum yield of hydrocarbons C₅–C₂₁ is obtained for catalysts on supports obtained from mineral-type sapropel. Liquid products of hydroliquefaction of sapropels are similar in composition to biofuels from other renewable raw materials and can be included in existing schemes for further processing.