Oxidative Desulfurization of DBT with H2O2 Catalysed By TiO2/Porous Glass

Oxidative desulfurization of DBT with H₂O₂ catalysed by TiO₂/porous glass

Chun Shen^†, Yujun Wang*_’^‡, Jianhong Xu^‡, Tianwei Tan^†, Guangsheng Luo*_’^‡

 

^†Beijing Key Laboratory of Bioprocess, College of Life Science and Technology, Beijing University of Chemical Technology, Beijing 100029, China

^‡The State Key Laboratory of Chemical Engineering, Department of Chemical Engineering, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084, China

 

Corresponding author: Tel: 86-010-62788568, Fax: 86-010-62788568

Email address: wangyujun@tsinghua.edu.cn and gsluo@tsinghua.edu.cn

 

Abstract

Aimed at ultra-deep oxidative desulfurization (ODS) of dibenzothiophene (DBT) and 4,6-dimethyldibenzothiophene (4,6-DMDBT) to control air pollution, we specially designed and prepared porous glass supported with TiO₂ nanoparticles acting as an amphiphilic catalyst. Hydrogen peroxide which is considered as the “green” oxidant was used, and for the extreme liquid−liquid phase ratio (usually larger than 1500) reaction system, the pore volume of 0.19 mL/g of the catalyst provides enough space for storage of hydrogen peroxide. The as-prepared catalyst offers a high interfacial surface area of 116.9 m²/g and enhances the reaction by facilitating the mass transfer. The mono-dispersed TiO₂ exhibited good crystallinity. The mean diameter varied from 2.1 to 7.8 nm with the loading amount increased from 1.27 wt.% to 9.85 wt.%. The catalyst showed high activity and good stability for producing ultra-clean fuels: 100% conversion was obtained within 2 min and the conversion just decreased from 100.0±1.0 % to 94.3±0.6 % after 5 cycles. Overall, this new reusable catalyst provided an alternative for highly efficient ultra-deep desulfurization in a green way.