Deep eutectic solvents based on choline chloride and ethylene glycol as media for extractive denitrification/desulfurization/dearomatization of motor fuels

In an attempt to develop alternative methods that meet the criteria of 'green' technology in gasoline production, choline chloride and ethylene glycol (ChCl-EG) based deep eutectic solvents (DESs) in molar ratios of 1:2, 1:3 and 1:3.5 were tested for desulfurization, denitrification and dearomatization of model and real gasoline. Using ChCl-EG 1:3.5 denitrification efficiency of 70.9% with respect to pyridine was achieved in a single extraction stage; efficiency above 99% was obtained in four stages. The DESs were regenerated by evaporating extracted components between stages, allowing for its multiple use. The equilibrium phase compositions in model fuel experiments were fairly predicted by UNIQUAC model. Physical properties of DESs important for application as extraction solvents were determined, too. The extraction data collected on real fuels shown that only the loose qualitative correlation with the model fuel experiments can be established. (C) 2018 The Korean Society of Industrial and Engineering Chemistry. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.