Development of an electrochemical reactor with rotating anode for fast and ultra-deep catalytic desulfurization of diesel: experimental and modeling

A novel electrochemical reactor with a rotating anode attached to its end with four baskets as catalysts holders is proposed for deep desulfurization of diesel fuel. In this reactor two experimentally prepared catalysts of (5% manganese oxide (MnO2)/modified activated carbon (MAC) and 5% iron oxide (Fe2O3)/MAC) were used for an efficient desulfurization process. This design is characterized by conducting two functions at the same time, which are to agitate the reaction mixture and to move the catalyst over all areas of the reaction vessel. Several experiments were conducted at different operating conditions such as voltage, reaction time, and agitating speed. Results showed that the proposed basket reactor is excellent and highly effective in removing dibenzothiophene (DBT) in diesel. The removal efficiency of sulfur compounds is significantly improved by enhancing reaction times, stirring speed, and cell voltage up to 3 volts and drops at higher than 3 volts. At all operating conditions, the 5% Fe2O3/MAC catalyst showed higher performance than the 5% MnO2/MAC catalyst. This result can be attributed to the high reactivity of Fe2O3/MAC toward DBT removal and its magnetic activity which could enhance the oxidation reaction. Under the best operating conditions, the removal efficiencies reached 98.8%, and 93.1% for 5% Fe2O3/MAC and 5% MnO2/MAC, respectively. A model for the proposed reactor was also developed using an artificial neural network (ANN) software. The modeling data displayed an excellent agreement between the experimental and predicted data. This interactive model produced an accurately strong basis for the behavior of the new electrochemical desulfurization (ECDS) process.