Vanadium(IV) catalysed oxidation of organosulfur compounds in heavy fuel oil

The deleterious effects of refractory polyaromatic hydrocarbons found in fuels such as organo-sulfur compounds are such that they emit SOx to the environment when combusted, thereby reducing air quality. Herein, oxidative desulfurization (ODS) which is a complementary step to hydrodesulfurization (HDS) was carried out in an attempt to eliminate sulfur compounds in fuels. Refractory organosulfur compounds were oxidized using tert-butyl hydroperoxide as an oxidant and a poly[VO(allylSB-co-EGDMA)], (vanadium(IV) functionalized polymer of 6,6′-(1E,1′E)-(1,2-phenylenebis(azan-1-yl-1-ylidene))bis(methan-1-yl-1-ylidene)bis(2-allylphenol) crosslinked with ethyleneglycol dimethacrylate) as a catalyst to convert sulfur compounds to polar sulfones. Some of the organosulfones were adsorbed via the use of molecularly imprinted polybenzimidazole nanofibers. The sulfur in heavy fuel oil after the oxidation/adsorption method fell below 8900 ± 200 ppmw S from the initial value of 17 920 ± 100 ppmw S.