Fuel desulfurization/denitrification via adsorption or extraction: A complementary approach to oxidative treatments

Strict rules and environmental concerns make the production of clean fuels that display very low sulfur (S) content mandatory for the petroleum refining industry. In parallel, nitrogenated compounds present in feedstock are deleterious for the various processes in a refinery. Herein, diesel oil desulfurization and denitrification via adsorption or extraction have been investigated as sequential and complementary treatments to oxidative protocols. Diesel fuel (S = 231 ppm and N = 115 ppm) has been treated with a number of adsorbents (including commercial silica gel and Fuller’s Earth powder) at room temperature in fixed-bed cartridges. Comparisons with typical extraction procedures showed that processes with suitable adsorption agents were more efficient in terms of both residual S/N content and fuel mass balance. These simple adsorption methods can be applied to any refining process as pre- or post-treatment. The application of these methods in oxidative diesel desulfurization/denitrification has ...