Title: Design and analysis of adsorptive desulphurisation of diesel oil

Authors: Noora Naif Darwish; Zarook M. Shareefdeen; Yehya El Sayed; Isam Al Zubaidy; Ziad Sara

Addresses: College of Engineering, American University of Sharjah, UAE ' College of Engineering, American University of Sharjah, UAE ' College of Science, American University of Sharjah, UAE ' College of Engineering, American University of Sharjah, UAE ' College of Science, American University of Sharjah, UAE

Abstract: The optimisation of sulphur removal percentages and diesel indices for a real diesel oil using two types of activated charcoal was achieved using factorial design. The effects of the amount of adsorbents, temperature, and contact time on sulphur removal and diesel index are studied. X-ray fluorescence spectroscopy was used to analyse the sulphur content, while scanning electron microscopy (SEM), inductively coupled plasma (ICP), and nitrogen adsorption analysis were used to analyse the adsorbents. Pseudo-first and second-order kinetic models were applied to determine the kinetics. The maximum sulphur removal obtained was 66.2%. In 2 level factorial designs (2k), the analysis showed different results for each response variable. The main interaction was between the amount of sorbent material and the contact time. The predicted values using the generated models were in reasonable agreement with the experimental data. [Received: February 10, 2016; Accepted: June 22, 2016]

Keywords: adsorptive desulphurisation; diesel oil; factorial design; sulphur removal percentage; calculated diesel index.

DOI: 10.1504/IJOGCT.2018.090140

International Journal of Oil, Gas and Coal Technology, 2018 Vol.17 No.3, pp.304 - 320

Received: 11 Feb 2016
Accepted: 22 Jun 2016

Published online: 01 Mar 2018 *

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