(385c) Oxidation of Dibenzothiophene in Diesel By in situ Generation of Hydrogen Peroxide in a Trickle Bed Electrochemical Reactor

An advanced integrated technology is proposed for oxidative desulfurization of diesel fuel in a trickle bed electrochemical reactor(TBER). In this process a strong and green oxidizing agent hydrogen peroxide was in situ generated by oxygen cathodic reduction, which was further employed for oxidation of dibenzothiophene(DBT) in diesel. The oxidized DBT can be easily removed by extraction with polar solvents. The process is environmentally friendly and eliminates the requirement cost for introduction of liquid oxidants in oxidative desulfurization process including hydrogen peroxide, organic hydroperoxide and organic peroxide from outside sources that require transportation, storage expenses, handling and safety precautions. The TBER cathode composed of carbon black and polytetrafluorethylene(C-PTFE) was initially developed to increase hydrogen peroxide generation by new bed design that showed a significant increase in hydrogen peroxide concentration. This performance is attributed to the good distribution of electrolyte and oxygen on the cathode bed and the effective mas transport of oxygen from the gas phase to the electrolyte–cathode interface. Factors for hydrogen peroxide electrogeneration were studied, involving, cell potential, flow mode, electrolyte concentrations flow rates, duration, diesel ratio and temperatures. The produced data indicated the possibility of in situ oxidation of DBT in diesel using divided TBER.