Hydrotreatment of Nylon 66 and Amide Model Compounds Over Sulfided NiMo Catalysts
Molybdenum sulfide-based catalysts, such as nickel–molybdenum on alumina (NiMoS x /Al 2 O 3 ), are widely used in hydrotreating and have potential for catalyzing waste plastic conversion via hydrogenolysis, yet their performance, such as reaction kinetics and network, for amide-rich polymer feeds is poorly defined. Here we combine Nylon 66 with the amide model compound, N,N-dibutylhexanediamide (DBDAD), to quantify hydrodeoxygenation (HDO) and hydrodenitrogenation (HDN) chemistry in a stirred batch reactor (53 bar H 2 , 280–320°C). DBDAD conversion is near-linear with time, indicating strong adsorption of the substrates on the active sites. Time-resolved product identification indicates parallel C─O first-cleavagedeoxygenation (DO) and C─N first-cleavagedenitrogenation (DN) sequences proceeding through amine and diol intermediates, respectively, to C 4 ─C 6 alkanes. Increasing temperature shifts selectivity toward DN, decreasing the initial r(DO)/r(DN) from 1.38 (280°C) to 0.69 (320°C), with an apparent activation energy of 173 kJ mol −1 for DBDAD conversion. At 300°C, nylon 66 converts faster than DBDAD, producing a complex mixture of oxygen- and nitrogen-containing species and an initial rate ratio r(DO)/r(DN) of 1.6. No heteroaromatic nitrogen products are detected by the method used. These results provide reaction pathways and product signatures relevant to hydro-processing catalysts exposed to polyamide-derived streams.