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Ind. Eng. Chem. Res. 2009, 48, 142–147
Desulfurization of Jet Fuel JP-5 Light Fraction by MCM-41 and SBA-15 Supported Cuprous Oxide for Fuel Cell Applications Yuhe Wang and Ralph T. Yang* Department of Chemical Engineering, UniVersity of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan 48109
John M. Heinzel Energy ConVersion Section, NAVSEA, Philadelphia, PennsylVania 19112
Desulfurization of a JP-5 light fraction (841 ppmw S) for on-board fuel cell applications was investigated by π-complexation adsorption with mesoporous SBA-15 and MCM-41 supported Cu2O. The effect of support and reduction temperature on the sulfur adsorption capacity was studied. The adsorbents were characterized with N2 physical adsorption and CO chemisorption. The results showed that the mesoporous structures of the support remained intact during adsorbent preparation. It was found that significant breakthrough occurred at 10.0 mL/g for desulfurization of the JP-5 light fraction by Cu2O/MCM-41 reduced at 700 °C. The MCM-41 was more effective than SBA-15 as the support for Cu2O adsorbents in desulfurizaiton of jet fuel. The sulfur adsorption capacity increased with the reduction temperature. The spent Cu2O/MCM-41 was regenerated by heating in air and the regenerated adsorbent was tested for reuse. The results showed that ∼100% of the sulfur capacity could be recovered. 1. Introduction Removal of sulfur containing compounds is an important operation in petroleum refining and is achieved by catalytic processes operated at high pressures and elevated temperatures. Today, refineries rely on hydrodesulfurization (HDS) processes to reduce sulfur levels from commercial fuels, but achieving deep-desulfurization levels would require the increase of existing reactor sizes, higher temperature and pressure, and increasing hydrogen consumption. Therefore, there has been much recent interest in developing adsorbents for selective desulfurization by adsorption.1–16 Because of the high energy density, availability, safety and ease in storage, transportation fuels (gasoline, diesel, and jet fuel) have been considered as an ideal hydrogen source for fuel cell.17 Jet fuels are strategic fuels for the military and considered by many as an excellent hydrogen source choice for on-board fuel cells.3,17 Our group has recently developed a class of adsorbents that rely on π-complexation bonding to selectively remove organosulfur molecules from commercial fuels.1,2,17–20 It was found that metal halides supported on active carbon, such as CuCl/AC or PdCl2/AC, are effective in the desulfurization of JP-5, a jet fuel with a high sulfur content.18,19 Most recently, we have found that PdCl2/SBA-15 and PdCl2/ MCM-41 were excellent adsorbents for desulfurizing very-highsulfur commercial jet fuels such as an JP-5 light fraction that contained 847 ppmw S.20 For this JP-5 light fraction, significant breakthrough (
