The presence of organosulfur compounds (OSC) especially thiophene derivatives in liquid fuels has adverse effects on vehicle emission control system and as well as on environment. Efficient and viable desulfurization strategies are focus of modern research to produce clean fuels for improved engine performance and safe environment. Herein, we synthesized polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA) membranes fabricated with metal sulfide nanoparticles i.e. NiS for removal of thiophene derivatives from liquid fuels. NiS nanoparticles were prepared by hydrothermal method and uniformly dispersed in PMMA matrix. The membranes were generated by solution casting technique whereas their porosity was controlled using suitable porgenic solvent. The developed membranes were characterized by FTIR to observe structural functionality while the surface morphology was studied by atomic force microscopic (AFM) images. In rebinding studies, the developed NiS-PMMA membranes have shown suitable recognition properties in removal of dibenzothiophene from n-hexane samples down to sub-ppm level. This suggests that developed membranes can be used as an efficient matrix for adsorptive desulfurization of thiophenes.

Integrating metal sulfide nanoparticles with porous PMMA membranes for desulfurization applications

255th National Meeting (2018)

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