Method for reducing thiophene in diesel fuel

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-2017321129-A1
Application number	US-201715660179-A
Country	US
Kind code	A1
Filing date	Jul 26, 2017
Priority date	Aug 26, 2015
Publication date	Nov 9, 2017
Grant date	—

Abstract

The present disclosure provides a method, for removing sulfur compounds from a fuel containing sulfur compounds. The method includes contacting the fuel with an adsorbent that comprises a carbonaceous material doped with nanoparticles of aluminum oxide to reduce the concentrations of the sulfur compounds, the carbonaceous material is at least one selected from the group consisting of activated carbon, carbon nanotubes, and graphene oxide, and the adsorbent has a weight ratio of C to Al in the range from 3:1 to 30:1, and a weight ratio of C to O in the range from 1:1 to 10:1.

First claim

1 . A method of reducing thiophene concentration in a diesel fuel, comprising:
contacting the diesel fuel with a fixed bed adsorbent, wherein the fixed bed adsorbent comprises a carbonaceous material doped with nanoparticles of aluminum oxide, wherein the contacting forms a treated diesel fuel having a reduced concentration of thiophene, wherein the carbonaceous material is at least one selected from the group consisting of activated carbon, carbon nanotubes, and graphene oxide, and wherein the fixed bed adsorbent has a weight ratio of C to Al in the range from 3:1 to 30:1, and a weight ratio of C to O in the range from 3:1 to 9:1.

2 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the carbon nanotubes are multi-walled carbon nanotubes.

3 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the carbonaceous material is doped with the nanoparticles of aluminum oxide by incipient wetness impregnation.

4 - 6 . (canceled)

7 . The method of claim 1 , further comprising regenerating the adsorption ability of the fixed bed adsorbent.

8 . The method of claim 7 , wherein the regenerating comprises heating the fixed bed adsorbent at about 300-550° C. to remove the adsorbed sulfur compounds.

9 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the fixed bed adsorbent is disposed in a fixed bed or fluidized bed and the contacting involves passing the diesel fuel through the fixed bed or fluidized bed.

10 . The method of claim 9 , wherein the fixed bed comprises a cartridge.

11 . The method of claim 10 , wherein the cartridge further comprises at least one adsorbent selected from the group consisting of a zeolite, activated alumina, and activated carbon.

12 . (canceled)

13 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the carbon nanotubes have an outer diameter ranging from about 10 nm to 30 nm.

14 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the nanoparticles of aluminum oxide have a diameter ranging from about 30 nm to 80 nm.

15 - 19 . (canceled)

Assignees

• Univ King Fahd Pet & Minerals

Inventors

• KHALED Mazen Mohammad
• Nazal Mazen Khaled
• Atieh Muataz Ali

Classifications

• C10G25/12

  Recovery of used adsorbent · CPC title

• C10G2400/04

  Diesel oil · CPC title

• C10G25/003 Primary

  Specific sorbent material, not covered by C10G25/02 or C10G25/03 · CPC title

• B01J20/205

  Carbon nanostructures, e.g. nanotubes, nanohorns, nanocones, nanoballs (carbon nanotubes per se C01B32/15) · CPC title

• C10G2300/202

  Heteroatoms content, i.e. S, N, O, P · CPC title