Bicarbonate-induced activation of H2O2 for metal-free oxidative desulfurization

Bicarbonate-induced activation of H2O2 for metal-free oxidative desulfurization

Type	Journal Article
Author	Alok D. Bokare
Author	Wonyong Choi
URL	http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0304389415301916
Volume	304
Pages	313-319
Publication	Journal of Hazardous Materials
Date	March 5, 2016
Abstract	Researchers obtained efficient oxidative desulfurization (ODS) of model oil containing dibenzothiophene (DBT) and aromatic thiophenic derivatives at room temperature using hydrogen peroxide activation by inorganic bicarbonate (HCO3−). Employing in-situ formation of peroxymonocarbonate as oxidant, the transformation of main model substrate DBT to corresponding DBT-sulfone was achieved in biphasic reaction conditions. In the presence of water–acetonitrile polar phase, increasing the water content upto 50% decreased the extraction capacity more than 3 times, but ∼90% DBT oxidation was still achieved. The oxidizing capacity of bicarbonate catalyst was maintained during repeated ODS cycles, but DBT removal efficiency was critically dependent on the extraction capacity of the polar phase. Under heterogeneous reaction conditions, bicarbonate-modified ion-exchange resin achieved similar ODS activity compared to the homogeneous catalytic system. Researchers propose the NaHCO3/H2O2 catalytic system as an efficient and cheap metal-free alternative for the oxidative removal of aromatic sulfur compounds from fuel oil.