Novel Gemini ionic liquid for oxidative desulfurization of gas oil

Hoda A Mohammed; Hamida Y Mostafa; Dina M Abd El-Aty; Ashraf M Ashmawy

doi:10.1038/s41598-023-32539-y

Novel Gemini ionic liquid for oxidative desulfurization of gas oil

Sci Rep. 2023 Apr 16;13(1):6198. doi: 10.1038/s41598-023-32539-y.

Authors

Hoda A Mohammed¹, Hamida Y Mostafa², Dina M Abd El-Aty³, Ashraf M Ashmawy⁴

Affiliations

¹ Analysis and Evaluation Department, Egyptian Petroleum Research Institute (EPRI), 1 Ahmed El- Zomor St., Nasr City, Cairo, 11727, Egypt.
² Refining Department, Egyptian Petroleum Research Institute (EPRI), 1 Ahmed El-Zomor St., Nasr City, Cairo, 11727, Egypt. H.Y.Mostafa@epri.sci.eg.
³ Refining Department, Egyptian Petroleum Research Institute (EPRI), 1 Ahmed El-Zomor St., Nasr City, Cairo, 11727, Egypt.
⁴ Chemistry Department, Faculty of Science, Al-Azhar University, Nasr City, Cairo, 11884, Egypt.

Abstract

The N₁,N₁,N₃,N₃-tetramethyl -N₁,N₃-diphenylpropane-1,3-diaminium dichloride ionic liquid (ILc) is an environmentally friendly catalyst for oxidative-extractive desulfurization of gas oil (sulfur content = 2400 ppm) in the presence of H₂O₂ as an oxidizing agent. The precise structure of the prepared IL was confirmed using FT-IR spectroscopy, and¹H-NMR. The reaction temperature, IL ratios, H₂O₂ dosage, and reaction time were studied to assess their effects on the desulfurization efficiency. The thermodynamic parameters of the oxidation reaction were determined. A desulfurization efficiency of 84.7% was obtained after the extractive desulfurization process using acetonitrile as an organic solvent at a solvent to feed ratio of 1:1 (v/v). Furthermore, the prepared IL may be reused for at least six cycles without any significant change in its desulfurization performance or chemical structure, which confirms its high reusability.