(460h) Lithium-Modified Mesoporous Silica for Desulfurization and Denitrogenation From Raw Diesel Fuel and Natural Gas

Due to increasingly stringent environmental regulations, desulfurization and denitrogenation of fossil fuels have become very important research topics in the production of clean fuels with ultra-low sulfur levels. Selective adsorption appears to be a promising approach to ultra-deep desulfurization and denitrogenation for gas or liquid fuels because of the ambient operating condition without consuming pressurized hydrogen or oxygen. However, for selective adsorption to be viable, an adsorbent should selectively adsorb sulfur and nitrogen compounds and should regenerate efficiently.

In this study, two kinds of lithium-modified mesoporous silica adsorbents (YSP-Li and MCF-Li) were prepared. As a liquid fuel, residue hydrodesulfurization diesel (RHDS DSL: 271.3ppmw of N-compounds and 430.2ppmw of S- compounds) provided by a refinery factory was used. The solvent washing regeneration (MIBK) was applied. As a model municipal gas, a mixture of methane and methyl mercaptan (291 µmol/mol) was used. A hot purge gas (CH₄ or N₂) at lower than 100 °C was applied to the regeneration. Their adsorptive properties, such as adsorption capacity, adsorption rate, and regeneration ability, will be presented in liquid and gas fuels and will be compared to the performance of Si-Zr cogel.