Desulfurization of Kerosene Literature Review

ABU GODWIN ITAKPE PSC0904473 TOPIC: DESULPHURIZATION OF KEROSENE LITERATURE REVIEW INTRODUCTION Refining of crude oil to final products requires desulphurization of the oil. Fuel specifications that govern transportation fuels have over the years become increasingly stringent with respect to sulphur content. Many petrochemical products are likewise

produced to be almost sulphur-free. The removal of sulphur from oil is consequently one of the central conversion requirements in most refineries and the price (and processing cost) of a crude oil is influential by its sulphur content. Kerosene is a clear, oily highly flammable liquid with strong odour, usually obtained by distillation of petroleum and used mostly as fuel and solvent (Merriam – Webster 2012). It is burned in lamps, heaters, and furnaces and used as a fuel or fuel component for diesel and tractor engines, jet engines and rockets and as a solvent for greases and insecticides.
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Kerosene is less volatile than petrol fraction boiling at the temperature range of 160 – 240oC and has a flash point of 38oC.

CHEMICAL COMPOSITION OF KEROSENE The chemical composition of kerosene depends on the different refining process. The major hydrocarbon contents in kerosene include aromatic, paraffinic naphthalenic compounds while the non-hydrocarbon components include sulphur, nitrogen and oxygen compounds (WL.Nelson, 1978). Emphasis will be laid on the non-hydrocarbon content of kerosene as it relates to the subject matter. A. SULPHUR COMPOUNDS Kerosene distillate may contain from 0.3 to 0.5% of sulphur in the form of various organic compounds (Hobson, 1973) some of which are generated during distillation from higher original crude oil. The types of sulphur found in kerosene are mercaptans, sulphides, disulphudes and thiophenes (Greenwood and Earnshaw, 1997 ). Mercaptans
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Structural example of cyclic mercaptans in kerosene

Sulphides

refers to molecules containing

–SH functional group

with linkage C-S-C. Dissolved...