Low temperature deep desulfurization of fuels via selective adsorption of sulfur compounds while keeping coexisting aromatic hydrocarbons and olefins intact is receiving increasing attention in the research and development community worldwide,  in order to satisfy the current and pending environmental regulations and fuel standards.  According to the current refinery technologies, the sulfur content in refinery fuel is typically around 300-500 ppm by weight (ppmw). Starting in 2006, sulfur limits in highway diesel and gasoline were set to 15 ppmw and 30 ppmw, respectively. During combustion sulfur compounds in the fuel are converted to toxic sulfur oxides (SOx) which contribute to air pollution and acid rains. Sulfur species irreversibly deactivate fuel processing catalysts and fuel cell electrodes. In this study we apply thin film technology in the adsorption of thiopene from a model solvent (fuel).  It is observed that these novel surfaces are able to sequester significant amounts (>200%) of thiophenic sulfur with respect to the other surface species.

Adsorptive desulfurization of thiophenic compounds from fuels using surface modified thin films

245th National Meeting (2013)

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