Catalyst composition and methods for desulfurization

1. A method of synthesizing a desulfurization catalyst composition comprising:

activating a plasma discharge reactor with a mixture of nitrogen, oxygen, and hydrogen gases to create a plasma discharge;

exposing a zinc metal powder comprising zinc metal particles, wherein each zinc metal particle has a diameter of about 0.5 μm to about 5 μm, to the plasma discharge for a predetermined time period such that zinc oxide nanowires having a length from about 100 nm to about 10 μm and having a diameter from about 10 nm to about 150 nm are formed;

removing the zinc oxide nanowires from the plasma discharge;

then combining γ-Al 2 O 3 with the nanowires before coating the nanowires with catalytically-active metal particles;

then coating or impregnating the zinc oxide nanowires with catalytically-active metal particles selected from the group consisting of cobalt particles, molybdenum particles, copper particles, tungsten particles, platinum particles and nickel particles, wherein the catalytically-active metal particles each have a diameter of from about 2 nm to about 20 nm as determined by X-ray diffraction patterns and utilizing the Scherrer equation, to thereby attach one or more catalytically-active metal particles to a surface of the zinc oxide nanowires to produce an active metal-treated nanowire powder or paste; and,

extruding or spheronizing the metal-treated nanowire powder or paste to produce a desulfurization catalyst.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein the plasma discharge has a power of about 200 W to about 5000 W.

3. The method of claim 1 wherein a concentration of oxygen in the gas is about 2 percent to about 20 percent.

4. The method of claim 1 wherein the hydrogen gas is included in the mixture at a flow rate of about 1 to about 500 sccm.

5. The method of claim 1 wherein the exposing the zinc metal powder to the plasma discharge comprises feeding the zinc metal powder into the plasma discharge reactor at a rate of about 1 g of zinc metal powder per minute.

6. The method of claim 1 wherein a spray of catalytic metal containing precursor in a solvent is applied to said zinc oxide nanowire powder and then the sprayed powder is exposed to atmospheric plasma for a period of time ranging from 5-15 seconds.

7. The method of claim 1 further comprising treating the metal-treated nanowires by hydrogen reduction using a temperature of from about 340° C. to about 430° C. and a time period of from about 0.5 hours to about 3 hours.

8. The method of claim 1 wherein the desulfurization catalyst comprises from about 6 wt % to about 30 wt % catalytically-active metal particles.

9. The method of claim 1 wherein the desulfurization catalyst comprises from about 6 wt % to about 30 wt % catalytically-active metal particles and from about 5 wt % to about 30 wt % γ-Al 2 O 3 .

10. The method of claim 9 wherein the desulfurization catalyst comprises from about 6 wt % to about 30 wt % nickel metal particles and from about 5 wt % to about 30 wt % γ-Al 2 O 3 and further comprises from about 3 wt % to about 10 wt % catalytically-active metal selected from cobalt, molybdenum, tungsten, copper, platinum and combinations thereof.

11. The method of claim 1 , further comprising depositing molybdenum oxide particles on the metal-treated nanowires, wherein said molybdenum oxide particles comprise up to about 8 wt % of the coated zinc oxide nanowires.

12. The method of claim 1 , wherein the zinc oxide nanowires have a surface area of at least about 5 m 2 per gram of nanowires.

13. A method of synthesizing a desulfurization catalyst comprising:

a. producing zinc oxide nanowires having a length from about 100 nm to about 10 μm and having a diameter from about 10 nm to about 150 nm;

b. then combining γ-Al 2 O 3 with the zinc oxide nanowires before coating the nanowires with catalytically-active metal particles; and,

c. then coating the zinc oxide nanowires with catalytically-active metal particles selected from the group consisting of cobalt particles, molybdenum particles, copper particles, tungsten particles, platinum particles and nickel particles, wherein the catalytically-active metal particles each have a diameter of from about 2 nm to about 20 nm, to produce a desulfurization catalyst.

14. The method of claim 13 wherein the zinc oxide nanowires are coated with nickel oxide particles by allowing the nanowires to react in an aqueous solution comprising nickel acetate, wherein the solution pH is maintained at 9, followed by treating with heat.

15. The method of claim 13 wherein the desulfurization catalyst comprises from about 6 wt % to about 30 wt % catalytically-active metal particles and from about 5 wt % to about 30 wt % γ-Al 2 O 3 , and up to about 8 wt % molybdenum oxide particles deposited on the metal-treated nanowires.