Reducing the amount of organosulfur compounds in fuel oils is crucial to meet with the environmental regulations imposed by the International Maritime Organization (IMO) that will be effective in January 2020. Heavy fuel oil (HFO), a residual product generated from the crude refining which contains up to 4.5 wt% sulfur, has been used as a marine fuel for nearly five decades.. Desulfurization of high sulfur-fuel oil, if technologically feasible at lower costs, can enable its continued economic utilization for both shipping and power generation industries. The presence of refractory organo-sulfurous compounds like polyaromatic sulfur heterocycle (PASH) species, render conventional desulfurization strategies like hydro-desulfurization (HDS) ineffective on HFO. Consequently, in recent years, one of the  promising technologies, namely Oxidative Desulfurization (ODS), has been widely studied for deep or ultra-deep desulfurization of transportation fuels. Compared to HDS, ODS offers several advantages: It has shown to be effective in the removal of sulfides/disulfides, thiols, thiophenes and their derivatives present in HFO under mild reaction conditions (25-90 °C , 1 atm ) without hydrogen consumption, thus, reducing capital costs. We report a preliminary study of ODS of HFO using H<sub>2</sub>O<sub>2</sub> as an oxidant in the presence of acetic acid as a catalyst. A polar solvent, Acetonitrile, was utilized as an extractant to remove the oxidized sulfur compounds from the fuel. The desulfurized HFO was analyzed using advanced analytical platforms like Fourier transform-Ion cyclotron resonance (FT-ICR) mass spectrometry, 1H and 13C nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy and inductively coupled plasma - optical emission (ICP-OES) spectrometry, to study the molecular and functional group distribution of the fuel to determine ODS efficiency and fuel properties. The results show a promising outcome of reduced sulfur content in the ODS treated HFO and forms the basis for further evaluation and optimization of the ODS technology. KAUST has formed a consortium of several international universities and industrial partners, and presently, working on a demonstration of 1 kg/min ODS of HFO utilizing ultrasonic cavitation technology. The consortium’s goal is to optimize this pilot unit and enable the foundation of a scientific approach for further strides in ODS technology and its commercialization. The presentation is aimed at covering the aforementioned study progress and outcomes.

Evaluating potential of oxidative desulfurization (ODS) technology for removal of sulfur from heavy fuel oil (HFO)

Macromolecular Chemistry: The Second Century

[Author Benefits](https://scimeetings.acs.org/?utm_source=pubs_content_marketing&utm_medium=website&utm_campaign=0320_MCF_NPI_Launch_Spring_Homepage&ref=pubs_content_marketing)

[How to use SciMeetings](https://storage.googleapis.com/dl.morressier.com/acs/SciMeetings-ACSSpring2020-HowToGuide_M3020-Final.pdf)

[Frequently Asked Questions](https://storage.googleapis.com/dl.morressier.com/acs/SciMtng_ACSNMSp2020_FAQ_M3120_Final.pdf)

ACS Spring 2020 National Meeting & Expo

The official archive and repository for all ACS Meetings & Expositions abstracts and select posters or presentations.