Synthesis, characterization and catalytic activity of cobalt phthalocyanine tetrasulphonamide in sweetening of LPG

Cobalt phthalocyanine tetrasulphonamide was synthesized by reacting cobalt phthalocyanine with chlorosulphonic acid at 130–135 °C followed by addition of thionyl chloride to convert free sulphonic acid to sulphonyl chloride and subsequently amidation with ammonia. It was isolated by acidifying the reaction mixture with hydrochloric acid followed by filtration. It was characterized by elemental IR and FAB mass spectral analysis. The activity of cobalt phthalocyanine tetrasulphonamide catalyst for extractive sweetening of LPG was evaluated by studying mercaptide oxidation using ethyl mercaptan as model sulfur compound in glass column. The stability of the catalyst was evaluated by studying liquid–liquid sweetening in a batch reactor using hexane thiol as a model compound and petroleum ether as an inert solvent. The performance of this catalyst with respect to activity and stability was found better than the commercial catalyst being used currently in the refineries. Commercial trial run of this catalyst has been successfully conducted for 4 months in FCC LPG Merox unit of Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited (BPCL), Mumbai and the performance was found better than commercial catalyst. Another trial run of the catalyst has been conducted in one of the LPG Merox units at Reliance Industries Limited (RIL), Jamnagar for 8 months and the performance has been found to be excellent with less catalyst consumption than commercial catalyst.