Oxidative desulphurization study of gasoline and kerosene: Role of some organic and inorganic oxidants

Desulphurization of gasoline and kerosene was carried out using organic and inorganic oxidants. Among the organic oxidants used were hydrogen peroxide in combination with acetic acid, formic acid, benzoic acid and butyric acid, while inorganic oxidants used included potassium permanganate and sodium perchlorate. The oxidation of each petroleum oil was carried out in two steps; the first step consisted of oxidation of the feed at moderate temperature and atmospheric pressure while in the second step, the oxidized mixture was extracted with azeotropic mixture of acetonitrile–water. A maximum desulphurization has occurred with NaClO4 and hydrogen peroxide and acetic acid, which are 68% and 61%, respectively in case of gasoline and 66% and 63%, respectively in case of kerosene oil. The FTIR study of the whole and variously desulphurized gasoline and kerosene was also carried out. The results indicate considerable desulphurization by absence of bands that corresponds to sulphur moieties in NaClO4 and hydrogen peroxide treated samples.