Desulfurization of Low Sulfur Diesel by Adsorption Using Activated Carbon: Adsorption Isotherms

Adsorptive desulfurization was studied using diesel fuel with low sulfur content (72 ppmw) and four commercial activated carbons (CAA, CAB, CAC, and CAD). After the adsorption scheme, it was possible to obtain a diesel with 15 ppmw of sulfur content. The experiments were carried out in a batch system at 303.15 K, atmospheric pressure, and 5-200 g-A/L-D, with magnetic stirring over 18 h. The adsorption isotherms were correlated by the Freundlich, Langmuir, Sips and Brunauer Emmett Teller (BET) models. There was a good agreement between the experimental and calculated adsorption isotherms. The Sips and BET models give the best correlation for the experiment.