Desulfurization of Middle Distillates by Oxidation and Extraction Process

In this work, we studied the desulfurization of Straight Run Gas Oil (SRGO) and diesel by selective oxidation and extraction of sulfur-containing compounds. The oxidation was carried out with a mixture of hydrogen peroxide at 30 wt% and acetic acid as catalyst. The extraction of the corresponding sulfones was performed with polar solvents (e.g., acetonitrile, methanol, 2-ethoxyethanol, and γ-butyrolactone). The SRGO has a sulfur content of 13,985 ppmw while diesel has 390 ppmw, the results showed sulfur removal to levels as low as 92 ppmw for diesel. From a consideration of the above results, a preliminary estimation of investment for a desulfuration process for hydrotreated diesel was done.