Oil Desulfurization Using Microwave Plasmas

Abstract

Very little work has been done in the past on the use of microwave plasmas for the desulfurization of oil products. This paper presents the measured desuffurizaiion levels on a diisopropyl disulfide oil solution containing 5.2% by weight of sulfur. Complete desulfurization was obtained, using either hydrogen or helium plasmas at atmospheric pressures.The estimated cost to completely desulfurize I metric ton of oil containing 5,2% by weight of sulfur is about $20.00 by the use of this new technology.