Adsorption, coadsorption, and reactions of sulfur compounds,
olefins,
and aromatics over Ce-exchanged Y zeolite (CeY) have been studied
by N2 adsorption, intelligent gravimetric analyzers (IGA),
X-ray diffraction (XRD), inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry
(ICP-MS), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), high-resolution
transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM), Fourier-transform infrared
spectroscopy (FT-IR), frequency response (FR) techniques, and batch
and fixed bed methods. The coadsorption of olefins can effectively
contribute to the alkylation and oligomerization reactions of thiophene
and further decrease the desulfurization performance of CeY. The influence
of aromatics on the desulfurization performance of CeY can be related
to the competitive adsorption/diffusion processes between sulfur compounds
and aromatics. The diffusion process is the rate-controlling step
for benzene, and the sorption process is the rate-controlling step
for thiophene. Thiophene molecules can be preferentially adsorbed
onto the Lewis acid sites by direct interaction between sulfur on
sulfur compounds and the Ce ion (S–M bond formation) or π-complexation,
but the S–M bond interactions play a more dominant role than π-complexation
in the CeY/sulfur compounds system.