Adsorptive desulfurization of liquid fuels using porous carbon framework

The increasing demand for clean transportation fuel has gained significant importance because of serious health and environment consequences. As per the government Bharat Stage Emission Standards, the permissible limit of inherited sulfur containing compounds in BS-VI diesel should be 10 ppm. Likewise, several desulfurization techniques used for removing or eliminating sulfur content, among which adsorptive desulfurization emerging as an alternative approach to ultra-deep hydrodesulfurization in terms of environmental and economical cleaning purposes. Accordingly, in the present work, a solid hydrocarbon, named Gilsonite, a naturally occurring, lightweight organic material, originated from the solidification of petroleum, has been explored for developing a porous functionalized carbon framework (FCF) to capture aromatic sulfur compound preferably benzothiophene (BTH). The prepared FCF has been characterized by surface morphology, crystalline phases, and textural characteristics. The desulfurization performance of FCF has been studied in n-heptane model fuel blended with BTH and further in diesel fuel (BS-IV standards). The results have shown the desulfurization efficiency of almost 96% at ambient conditions, highlighting the effect of active functional sites on FCF matrix. The present study has demonstrated the waste to carbon features, supporting the sustainable development initiative toward cleaner energy technologies.