Abstract
Desulfurization of liquid fuels mitigates the amount of noxious sulfur oxides and particulates released during fuel combustion. Existing literature on oxidative-adsorptive desulfurization technologies focus on sulfur-in-fuel removal by various materials, but very little information is presented about their desorption kinetics and thermodynamics. Herein, we report for the first time, the mechanism of sulfur desorption from neutral activated alumina saturated with dibenzothiophene sulfone. Batch experiments were conducted to examine the effects of agitation rate, desorption temperature, sulfur content, and eluent type on sulfur desorption efficiencies. Results show enhanced desorption capacities at higher agitation rate, desorption temperature, and initial sulfur content. Desorption efficiency and capacity of acetone were found to be remarkably superior to ethanol, acetone:ethanol (1:1), and acetone:isopropanol (1:1). Desorption kinetics reveal excellent fit of the nonlinear pseudo-second-order equation on desorption data, indicating chemisorption as the rate-determining step. Results of the thermodynamics study show the spontaneous (ΔG° ≤ −2.08 kJ mol−1) and endothermic (ΔH° = 32.35 kJ mol−1) nature of sulfur desorption using acetone as eluent. Maximum regeneration efficiency was attained at 93% after washing the spent adsorbent with acetone followed by oven-drying. Scanning electron microscopy, Fourier transform infrared, and X-ray diffraction spectroscopy analyses reveal the intact and undamaged structure of neutral activated alumina even after adsorbent regeneration. Overall, the present work demonstrates the viability of neutral activated alumina as an efficient and reusable adsorbent for the removal of sulfur compounds from liquid fossil fuels.
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Acknowledgements
The authors would like to thank the Ministry of Science and Technology, Taiwan (Contract No. MOST 107-2221-E-005-081-MY3) and the Basic Science Research program through the National Research Foundation of Korea (NRF) funded by the Ministry of Education (No. 2016R1A6A1A03012812) for providing the financial support for this research undertaking. The authors are also grateful to the Engineering Research and Development for Technology (ERDT) Program by the Department of Science and Technology, Philippines for the scholarship awarded to RMF.
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The design of the study and collection, analysis and interpretation of data were financially supported by the Ministry of Science and Technology, Taiwan (Contract No. MOST 107-2221-E-005-081-MY3), the Department of Science and Technology, Philippines, and the National Research Foundation (NRF), Korea through Ministry of Education (No. 2016R1A6A1A03012812).
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Conceptualization: RMF, MDGDL and MCL; Methodology: RMF, MDGDL and MCL; Investigation: RMF, BMBE and CMF; Validation: RMF, BMBE and CMF; Formal analysis: RMF, BMBE, CMF, RRMA and MDGDL; Resources: MDGDL and MCL; Data curation: RMF, BMBE, CMF and RRMA; Writing original draft: RMF and CMF; Writing – review and editing: MDGDL, BMBE and CMF; Visualization: RMF and RRMA; Supervision: MDGDL and MCL; Project administration: MDGDL and MCL; Funding: MDGDL and MCL.
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Highlights
• Neutral activated alumina removed sulfur compounds from model fuel.
• Pseudo-second-order model adequately fit desorption data.
• Acetone is a better eluent for sulfur desorption than ethanol.
• Sulfur desorption from neutral activated alumina was endothermic and spontaneous.
• Neutral activated alumina retained its structural integrity after regeneration.
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Feliciano, R.M., Ensano, B.M.B., de Luna, M.D.G. et al. Kinetics and thermodynamics of organo-sulfur-compound desorption from saturated neutral activated alumina. Environ Sci Pollut Res 29, 12473–12483 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-021-13913-7
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-021-13913-7