Energy-Efficient Sulfone Separation Process for the Production of Ultralow Sulfur Diesel by Two-Step Adsorption

Energy Fuels, 2012, 26 (4), pp 2168–2174

Energy-Efficient Sulfone Separation Process for the Production of Ultralow Sulfur Diesel by Two-Step Adsorption

Sam Mok Lim†‡, Jong-Nam Kim†, Jihye Park†, Sang Sup Han†, Jong-Ho Park†, Tae Sung Jung†, Hyung Chul Yoon†, Sung Hyun Kim*‡, and Chang Hyun Ko*†

kimsh@korea.ac.kr

chko@jnu.ac.kr

† Korea Institute of Energy Research, 152, Gajeong-ro, Yuseong-gu, Daejeon 305-343, Korea

‡ Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, Korea University, 1,5-ga, Anam-Dong, Sungbuk-gu, Seoul 136-701, Korea

Abstract

Describes investigation of a three-step process for producing ultralow sulfur diesel.  The process  consists of (1) the separation of sulfone in diesel  by adsorption on silica and the subsequent regeneration of silica using a polar solvent, (2) the separation of sulfone in methanol by adsorption on activated carbon and the subsequent regeneration of activated carbon using a nonpolar solvent, and (3) the distillation for the recovery of a nonpolar solvent.

Various polar solvents  and nonpolar solvents  were considered.  They found methanol and n-butane to be good solvents for regenerating sulfone-adsorbed silica and sulfone-adsorbed activated carbon, respectively. The study showed the potential to produce ultralow sulfur diesel with low energy consumption in a continuous separation process.

Full Text Source (Subscription or Fee): http://pubs.acs.org/doi/abs/10.1021/ef201964v