DOI: https://doi.org/10.55373/mjchem.v24i4.36

Keywords: Desulfurization, activated carbon, dibenzothiophene, model diesel

Abstract

Adsorptive desulfurization was proposed in this work as an alternative technique for removing sulfur from model diesel. It has emerged as a potentially economically feasible and effective alternative to meet the strict environmental standards for sulfur levels in diesel. The synthesis of activated carbon was derived from glycerin pitch and acted as an adsorbent. The resulting activated carbon was undergone a crucial step, polymerization with sulphuric acid before being thermochemically treated with iron nitrate (FeNO3) at 700 °C in N2 atmosphere. The surface properties and functionalities of activated carbon were revealed by Brunauer-Emmett-Teller (BET) analysis, field emission scanning electron microscopy with energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (FESEM-EDX), and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR). Further, the adsorption capacity was studied systematically by analyzing the effects of calcination temperature, contact time, adsorbent dosage, and temperature, under optimum conditions of calcination temperature 700 °C, 30 min contact time, 30 °C temperature, and 0.1 g dosage. 78.65% of dibenzothiophene (DBT) was removed and this result showed glycerin pitch as potential material for the adsorptive desulfurization process.