Butyl triphenyl phosphonium bromide as an effective catalyst for ultrasound assisted oxidative desulfurization process

Oxidation of dibenzothiophene (DBT) from the stock solution using hydrogen peroxide-acetic acid mixture was carried out at a temperature range of 40-70 degrees C in the presence of phase transfer catalyst (PTC) namely butyl triphenyl phosphonium bromide [BTPP]Br by one pot method. [BTPP]Br was characterized by FTIR, NMR, UV-VIS analysis. Desulfurization process was analyzed for alternation in a variety of parameters i.e. ultrasound oxidation time, temperature, amount of hydrogen peroxide-acetic acid consumed, amount of catalyst under ultrasound irradiation. The result indicates that [BTPP]Br acts as a phase transfer catalyst as well as extractant in ultrasound assisted oxidative desulfurization (UAODS) and 75.23% conversion was achieved within 30 min irradiation time and 50 degrees C temperature. Recycling and regeneration of [BTPP]Br were also carried out under optimum conditions. Multistage extraction using [BTPP]Br lead to 86.13% desulfurization efficiency. (C) 2019 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. Selection and peer-review under responsibility of the scientific committee of the 2nd International Conference on Recent Advances in Materials & Manufacturing Technologies.