Effect of active species scavengers in photocatalytic desulfurization of hydrocracker diesel using mesoporous Ag3VO4

The removal of refractory organosulfur compounds is becoming a crucial issue worldwide. Hydrodesulfurization is unable to desulfurize petroleum refinery specialty products completely. Photocatalytic oxidative desulfurization is emerging because of its efficacy in desulfurizing refractory organosulfur compounds. Moreover, the adaption of ambient temperature and pressure conditions, the requirement of molecular oxygen from the air rather than expensive hydrogen, and high activity performance for complex sulfides have attracted considerable attention. Herein, a mesoporous Ag3VO4 semiconductor was synthesized using a KIT-6 matrix and analyzed using a range of techniques, which revealed the as-synthesized material to have superior physicochemical properties. The activity performance was examined on hydrocracker diesel containing 130 ppm organosulfur, and compared with conventional materials. The desulfurization studies revealed up to 92.35% sulfur removal, which was far greater than with conventional materials. Furthermore, several organic and inorganic scavengers were used to investigate the role of various photogenerated reactive species, such as electrons, holes, superoxide radicals, and hydroxyl radicals, in the following order: holes (h(+)) > superoxide radicals > (O-center dot(2)-) > electrons (e(-)) > hydroxyl radicals ((OH)-O-center dot). The kinetic study followed the pseudo-first-order kinetic model. Moreover, the possible desulfurization mechanism was predicted, and the photocatalyst recyclability was also studied.

Automated summary

The study synthesized a mesoporous Ag3VO4 semiconductor catalyst for photocatalytic oxidative desulfurization, showing high desulfurization efficiency. The use of different photogenerated reactive species helped predict the desulfurization mechanism, with the kinetic study providing insights into reaction rates.