(630n) ADSORPTION of Aromatic Sulfur Molecules On Mesostructured Silica Adsorbents
AIChE Annual Meeting
2011
2011 Annual Meeting
Separations Division
Poster Session On Fundamentals and Applications of Adsorption and Ion Exchange
Wednesday, October 19, 2011 - 6:00pm to 8:00pm
Desulfurization of benzothiophene/isooctane mixtures and gasoline (42.5 ppmw S) was achieved by π-complexation adsorption with PdCl2 supported on the SBA-15 mesoporous material. PdCl2/SBA-15 sorbent was prepared with spontaneous monolayer dispersion of metal (Pd) onto the surface of SBA-15. SBA-15 and PdCl2/SBA-15 were characterized with N2 physical adsorption. Desulfurization of benzothiophene/isooctane mixtures and gasoline (42.5 ppmw S) with these sorbents was investigated in batch and fixed bed. PdCl2/SBA-15 showed by far the highest capacity of sulfur adsorption. A simulation model was used to predict the breakthrough curves for adsorption and desorption runs. The spent PdCl2/SBA-15 was regenerated using isooctane as eluent, and the regenerated PdCl2/SBA-15 was tested again for the desulfurization. The results showed that about 98% of the sulfur capacity were recovered at breakthrough. PdCl2/SBA-15 seemed to be adequate for aromatics removal in this system.