Three bimetallic Ni-Co (Ni:Co ratio 1:3, 1:1 and 3:1) and two monometallic (Ni and Co) nanoparticles supported on Al2O3 were synthesized by incipient wet impregnation and characterized by various technics (N2-physisorption, XRD, H2-TPR, CO-chemisorption and elemental analysis). It was demonstrated by XRD that NiCo alloys nanoparticles were present on bimetallic solids. The catalytic properties of all catalysts were determined for the hydrodeoxygenation of m-cresol at 340 °C under 4 MPa of total pressure. It was demonstrated that NiCo alloy developed better deoxygenation catalytic properties than pure Ni metallic phase, these properties being evaluated both by the total reaction rate (kTOT) and the selectivity into deoxygenation products. Indeed, bimetallic NiCo(3:1)/Al2O3 was 1.2 times more active than Ni/Al2O3 and 8.8 times than Co/Al2O3, deoxygenated products being favored on bimetallic catalysts compared to Ni one. In addition, the kTOT values seems to be related to the amount of CO uptakes, indicating that active sites in HDO were of similar nature than those allowing the adsorption of CO, and could be oxygen vacancies which were promoted in bimetallic NiCo particles.

The mechanisms involved in the natural formations of dolomite (CaMg(CO3)2) and magnesite (MgCO3) have endured as challenging research questions over centuries, being yet a matter under investigation in multiple fields....

To avoid gas hydrate formation during oil and gas production, companies usually employ thermodynamic inhibitors consisting of hydroxyl compounds, such as monoethylene glycol (MEG). However, these inhibitors may cause other types of fouling during production such as inorganic salt deposits (scale). Calcium carbonate is one of the main scaling salts and is a great concern, especially for the new pre-salt wells being explored in Brazil. Hence, it is important to understand how using inhibitors to control gas hydrate formation may be interacting with the scale formation process. Multiple regression and design of experiments were used to mathematically model the calcium carbonate scaling process and its evolution in the presence of MEG. It was seen that MEG, although inducing the precipitation by increasing the supersaturation ratio, actually works as a scale inhibitor for calcium carbonate in concentrations over 40%. This effect was not due to changes in the viscosity, as suggested in the literature, but possibly to the binding of MEG to the CaCO3 particles’ surface. The interaction of the MEG inhibition effect with the system’s variables was also assessed, when temperature’ and calcium concentration were more relevant.

Experimental validation was given to molecular dynamics calculations regarding the preferential retention of sulfate ions in the calcite polymorph of calcium carbonate.

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