Transition metal based carbon composite for adsorptive desulfurization of tire derived fuel oils

Abstract

Presence of sulphur groups in recovered tire oil has prevented the use of it as a substitute for the conventional fuels. The use of carbon materials mainly activated carbon as absorbent, for the desulphurization of tire oil can be considered but it has low affinity towards organic sulphur compound. However, such carbon material can act as good supports in development of composite due to their properties such as surface inertness, resistance to aggressive environments at elevated temperatures and large specific surface area. A transition metal (Fe) based adsorbent developed in the current work, present a sustainable approach in removal of organic sulphur compound from the oil. The method developed for the synthesis is the chemical precipitation as it is the most effective synthesis technique. Various doping levels of metal precursor were used in the substrate to check for the effectiveness of the complex. The composites werefurther characterised using a multi-analytical technique to fully understand both carbon and metal composite at the micro and nanoscale. The various characterization techniques such as FTIR, X-ray Diffraction, Scanning Electron Microscopy, Raman spectroscopy, BET surface area analysiswas used to characterize the newly developed metal complexes. A batch adsorption study was conducted for the removal of organic sulphur compounds present in the oil. The reduction was seen to be 83.575% with the help of 5% doped iron oxide on activated carbon. The comprehensive characterization approach proposed in this work allows the rationalization of the role of carbons and metal components in enhancing the performance of composite material in desulfurization activity.