00215 Designing composite materials for oxidative desulfurization

Abstract

Creating a SOx-free environment is a hot topic concerning the health of human beings and the air quality. The transportation sector is a significant source of SOx emission due to combusting sulfur-containing liquid fuels, underpinning the importance of sulfur-free liquid fuels. Oxidative desulfurization (ODS) can remove the refractory sulfur compounds under ambient conditions in the presence of a catalyst and an oxidant. Composite materials are promising ODS catalysts as they offer the combined benefits of individual components. This chapter aims to discuss the different composite catalysts used for ODS. It classifies the composite ODS catalysts into five categories: mixed metal oxides, active components loaded on solid supports, host-guest materials, hybrid materials, and magnetic composites. In addition, an in-depth discussion has been made on the different kinds of composite ODS catalysts. This chapter briefly explains the five types of desulfurization techniques (traditional hydrodesulfurization, ODS, adsorptive desulfurization, extractive desulfurization, and biodesulfurization) at the outset. Significantly, the details of ODS have been comprehensively illustrated. We believe this chapter would provide the essential insights to design a very effective composite ODS catalyst to produce sulfur-free liquid fuels under ambient reaction conditions.