Deep oxidative desulfurization of model fuel via dielectric barrier discharge plasma oxidation using MnO2 catalysts and combination of ionic liquid extraction

This paper developed a novel oxidative desulfurization (ODS) technique via dielectric barrier discharge plasma oxidation using MnO2 catalysts and a combination of ionic liquid [BMIM]CH3COO extraction. MnO2 catalysts were synthesized using hydrothermal synthesis and characterized using various analytical techniques. Their ODS performances were investigated. The results indicated that MnO2 catalysts could effectively improve the performance of the desulfurization system. Under optimized technical conditions, the sulfur removal of thiophene (TS), benzothiophene (BT), dibenzothiophene (DBT), and 4,6-dimethyldibenzothiophene (4,6-DMDBT) in n-octane reached 99.9%, 99.9%, 97.9%, and 90.7%, respectively. The oxidation activities of the four sulfur compounds decreased in the order of TS > BT > DBT > 4,6-DMDBT.