Ultra-deep desulfurization of diesel fuel has attracted great attention worldwide due to the increasingly more stringent government regulations for sulfur in transportation fuel as well as the need to produce near-zero-sulfur liquid hydrocarbons from commercial fuels for fuel cell applications. As a part of our ongoing research to explore new approaches to ultra-deep desulfurization, we recently found that using air can significantly promote adsorptive desulfurization (ADS) over TiO2-CeO2 mixed metal oxide adsorbents from low-sulfur diesel fuel, most likely by facilitating the formation of sulfoxide species. Selectivity studies in a flow system and density functional theory calculations suggest that adding air enhances not only the formation and regeneration of active sites for ADS, but also the catalytic role of the active sites for oxidation of thiophenic sulfur to sulfonic sulfur. Both the experiments and DFT calculations demonstrate higher adsorption affinity for sulfoxide/sulfone over the TiO2-CeO2 adsorbent compared with non-oxidized thiophenic sulfur species.

Air-promoted adsorptive desulfurization over TiO<sub>2</sub>-CeO<sub>2</sub> adsorbents from low-sulfur diesel fuel under ambient conditions

247th National Meeting (2014)

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Air-promoted adsorptive desulfurization over TiO2-CeO2 adsorbents from low-sulfur diesel fuel under ambient conditions

Air-promoted adsorptive desulfurization over TiO₂-CeO₂ adsorbents from low-sulfur diesel fuel under ambient conditions