Achieving deep desulfurization with inverse-micellar polyoxometalates and oxygen

Designing green and efficient catalytic systems that can operate under mild conditions and utilize molecular oxygen as an oxidant for achieving deep desulfurization is highly desirable. In this study, an inverse-micellar polyoxometalate (POM) (NH4)(5)(CTA)(6)PMo4V8O40 (CTA = cetyltrimethylammonium), abbreviated as (CTA)PMo4V8, was designed and its activity in desulfurization was evaluated. Almost similar to 100% of organic sulfur was removed in 8 h at 100 degrees C, using only flowing oxygen under atmospheric pressure. (CTA)PMo4V8 exhibited excellent activity in treating sulfur-containing compounds (dibenzothiophene (DBT), 4,6-dimethyldibenzothiophene (DMDBT), benzothiophene (BT) and thiophene) in real oils, i.e. diesel and FCC gasoline, affording clean oils with super-low sulfur content of 8.77 and 6.17 ppm, respectively. Furthermore, (CTA)PMo4V8 showed high activity in the oxidative desulfurization of real oils in the presence of oxygen and nitrogen (volume ratio 1 : 1). Such inverse-micellar POMs could be reused at least six times without significant loss of activity due to their high stability.

Automated summary

Designing green and efficient catalytic systems that can utilize molecular oxygen for deep desulfurization is highly desirable. The inverse-micellar polyoxometalate (POM) (CTA)PMo4V8 demonstrated excellent activity in removing organic sulfur from real oils with super-low sulfur content, showing high stability and reusability. The (CTA)PMo4V8 catalytic system has great potential for practical applications in the oxidative desulfurization of oil.