Novel phenolic deep eutectic solvents for desulfurisation of petrodiesel

Idrees Bakr Qader, Pharmaceutical Chemistry Department, College of Pharmacy, Hawler Medical University, Erbil, Kurdistan Region, IraqFollow
Jalil H. Kareem, Mechanic and Energy Department, Erbil Technology College, Erbil Polytechnic University, Erbil, Kurdistan Region, IraqFollow
Hani K. Ismail, Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Science and Health, Koya University, Koya KOY45, Kurdistan Region-F.R., IraqFollow
Hawbash K. Mahmood, Ministry of Natural Resources, Central Lab, Erbil, IraqFollow

Abstract

In this work, a novel production of “deep eutectic solvents (DESs)” has been utilised for the elimination of sulfur composition, particularly from crude oil by liquid-liquid extraction. Herein, we present the first demonstration of the use of novel DESs formed by phenol, catechol, resorcinol and o-cresol as “hydrogen bond donors (HBDs)” with trimethyl hydroxyammonium chloride (ChCl) as the hydrogen bond acceptor to affect the efficient separation of organosulfur compounds from diesel. These DES electrolytes have been applied for the sulfur extraction from Iraqi real diesel fuel as determined using X-ray florescence sulfur measurements. The optimisation condition factors in this research have been studied, containing reaction time, the temperature of extraction process, the ratio of mass of diesel to DES and regeneration of DESs. The results indicated that phenol-based DESs extracted more than 38% of S-compounds from true diesel fuel when the mass ratio DES:fuel was 1:2 at 55 °C. Anhydrous ferric chloride (FeCl₃) was also utilised as a catalyst in this work, where it was demonstrated that charge-dipole interaction between the DES and sulfide compounds was the key driving force behind the desulfurization process. We have shown that the extraction efficiency could be summarised as o-cresol + ChCl < catechol + ChCl < resorcinol + ChCl < phenol + ChCl. More than 44% of sulfur species could be removed when a 1:1:1 molar ratio of ChCl: phenol: acetic acid was utilised with H₂O₂ as an oxidant.

Recommended Citation

Qader, Idrees Bakr; Kareem, Jalil H.; Ismail, Hani K.; and Mahmood, Hawbash K. (2021) "Novel phenolic deep eutectic solvents for desulfurisation of petrodiesel," Karbala International Journal of Modern Science: Vol. 7 : Iss. 1 , Article 12.
Available at: https://doi.org/10.33640/2405-609X.2697