Preparation of Fe₂O₃, NiO₂, and ZnO supported montmorillonite clay for oxidative desulfurization of transportation fuels in O₂/CH₃COOH oxidation system

Sulfur compounds in transportation fuels have been a major concern for environmental researchers due to the production of their obnoxious oxides. This work reports the preparation of Fe2O3, NiO2, and ZnO promoted Montmorillonite (MMT) catalyzed O-2/CH3COOH oxidation system for the elimination of dibenzothiophene (DBT) from transportation fuels oils. The as-synthesized catalysts were characterized via FTIR, EDX SEM, and XRD techniques which suggested intriguing surface properties conducive to the removal of DBT molecules. Desulfurization activity experiments showed that Fe2O3/MMT-O-2/CH3COOH catalyst-oxidant system decreased the sulfur content (from a model solution) from 500 to 22.9 ppm in 60 min at 60 degrees C. Under the optimized conditions, the sulfur levels from commercial gasoline, diesel and kerosene oil were decreased from 25.3 to 11.7 mg/L, 3800.53 to 1467.7 mg/L and 3296.6 2450 mg/L, respectively. The spent catalysts were also characterized in detail which justified the catalytic activity of different catalysts. Accrediting its environmental benignity, cost-effectiveness, and ease of preparation, this study provides important reference information for the industrial-scale desulfurization of transportation oils.