Vanadium Incorporation in Montmorillonite Clays for Oxidative Diesel Desulfurization

Abstract

Burning fossil fuels containing significant amounts of sulfur compounds generates toxic and pollutant products, and removal of these sulfur compounds is of substantial interest to the oil industry. New technologies, such as oxidative desulfurization, are being developed to achieve this, with the aim of increasing the removal of these contaminants at lower costs. In this work, commercial clays (K-10 and KSF), a natural clay (Poço A), and its pillarized form (Poço A PILC) were impregnated with 1% vanadium for the oxidation and extraction of dibenzothiophene (DBT) in commercial diesel charge. The catalysts were characterized by XRD, textural analysis, and SEM. The products obtained in the catalytic tests performed were analyzed by GC-FID gas chromatography. The vanadium-impregnated K-10 and KSF clays showed the best results regarding DBT oxidation, with yields of 33 and 58%, respectively. However, all clays yielded good results for extraction of the organic compound while avoiding oxidation.