Column Desulfurization of Hydrodesulfurized Gasoline Using Ce(IV)-Loaded Y-Zeolite Adsorbent

Abstract

This paper reports the removal of organic sulfur compounds and H2S by a column process from a simulated gasoline solution and a real hydrodesulfurized gasoline sample with a low sulfur content (<5 ppm). In this process, a Ce(IV)-loaded Y-zeolite (CeY-S) is used as the adsorbent for the removal of thiophene from the simulated gasoline solution and sulfur compounds from the hydrodesulfurized gasoline. The CeY-S adsorbent shows strong adsorption ability for various organic sulfur compounds and H2S in the real hydrodesulfurized gasoline. A granulated CeY-S adsorbent is developed for the column desulfurization process. A high temperature is preferred for the effective removal of the sulfur compounds by the granulated adsorbent, which increases the rate of the adsorption reaction. When granulated CeY-S is used, the amount of real hydrodesulfurized gasoline desulfurized is 66 times the bed volume, and the sulfur content of gasoline is reduced from 1.67 to 0.1 ppm. A thiophene adsorption–desorption cycle experiment indicates that after the sulfur adsorption, the CeY-S adsorbent can be regenerated by calcination in air at temperature above 450°C and that adsorbent structure is stable during repeated adsorption–desorption cycles.