The production of clean diesel fuel by facile sun light photocatalytic desulfurization process using Cd-based diacetate as a novel liquid photocatalyst

Abstract

Photocatalysis is one of the promising processes for developing greener fuels. This work compares a new liquid Cd-based diacetate and CdOx nanoparticles for photo-desulfurization of diesel. Various tools, including XRD, XPS, TEM, 1H&13C NMR, FTIR, reflectance, and photoluminescence, were used for characterizing the materials. Different parameters, such as irradiation type, catalyst dosage, oxidizing agents, and solvent extraction were applied. The results showed that, under visible light irradiation with a linear halogen lamp (LHL), Cd diacetate reveals promising sulfur removal (98.5%) for 2 h compared with CdOx NPs (97.7%) for 3 h in the presence of H2O2 and acetic acid as oxidizing agents and acetonitrile as a solvent. Under sunlight, sulfur content decreased from 11500 ppm to 65 ppm (removal exceeds 99.4% for the Cd diacetate against 98.0% for CdOx NPs) with high-quality properties (aniline point: 91.8 °C, diesel index: 79.8). The photo-luminance activity of Cd diacetate (low intensity) allows reducing electron/hole pair recombination, which maintains stable photocatalytic activity with enhanced visible light elimination of organosulfur compounds for economical, clean fuel production associated with pollution control. The catalyst recycling and the spontaneous regeneration of the solvent make the process very attractive. Cd diacetate was successfully recycled over six cycles.