Abstract
The selectivity of a facile reductive and extractive desulfurization process was studied. In this desulfurization method, polyethylene glycol was used as the extractant, and sodium borohydride was used as the reductant. Several different simulated fuels were prepared by dissolving thiophenic sulfides, methylbenzene and hexylene in octane. The results showed that methylbenzene and olefins had different effects on different sulfur compounds during this desulfurization process. The extraction and reduction mechanisms were also explained. Four factors could affect the desulfurization performance: (1) intermolecular hydrogen bonding: (a) active O bonding with aromatic H or (b) S bonding with H atoms in hydroxide radicals, (2) “like-dissolves-like” interactions between polyethylene glycol and thiophenic sulfides, (3) the methyl steric hindrance effect and the electron density of sulfur atoms, and (4) the combination of S atoms with produced nickel boride to form active desulfurization centres. The desulfurization reaction path was also deduced according to the GC/MS results.
Highlights
The selectivity of a facile reductive and extractive desulfurization process was studied
Model fuels were prepared by dissolving T, 3-MT, BT, 3-MBT, DBT and 4,6DMDBT in octane with sulfur contents of approximately 250, 333, 500, and 1000 ppm
The removal of BT and T was 100% or nearly 100% when the sulfur content was under 500 ppm, and the desulfurization efficiency of T decreased to 70% when the sulfur content increased to 1000 ppm
Summary
The selectivity of a facile reductive and extractive desulfurization process was studied. Many countries worldwide have set strict standards to control the sulfur content of fuels, and some countries even demand that the sulfur content be reduced to near-zero levels (
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