Oxidative Desulfurization of Non-hydrotreated Kerosene Using Hydrogen Peroxide and Acetic Acid

The oxidative desulfurization of a real refinery feedstock (i.e., non-hydrotreated kerosene with total sulfur mass content of 0.16%) with a mixture of hydrogen peroxide and acetic acid was studied. The influences of various operating parameters including reaction temperature (7), acid to sulfur molar ratio (n(acid)/n(S)), and oxidant to sulfur molar ratio (n(O)/n(S)) on the sulfur removal of kerosene were investigated. The results revealed that an increase in the reaction temperature (7) and n(acid)/n(S) enhances the sulfur removal. Moreover, there is an optimum n(O)/n(S) related to the reaction temperature and the best sulfur removal could be obtained at n(O)/n(S) = 8 and 23 for the reaction temperatures of 25 and 60 degrees C, respectively. The maximum observed sulfur removal in the present oxidative desulfurization system was 83.3%.