Desulfurization of Jet-A fuel in a fixed-bed reactor at room temperature and ambient pressure using a novel selective adsorbent

The adsorptive desulfurization of Jet-A fuel (with sulfur concentrations above 1000 ppmw) using a novel, low-cost adsorbent, 10NiO–CeO2/7.5Al2O3–SiO2 was investigated in fixed-bed tests. The desulfurization was designated to operate at room temperature and ambient pressure. The flow rate of fuel, size of adsorbent particles, and dimensions of an adsorbent-packed fixed-bed were optimized to obtain a high sulfur adsorption capacity per unit mass of adsorbent. At a breakthrough sulfur concentration of 10 ppmw a very high sulfur adsorption capacity of 0.633 mg S/g adsorbent was achieved. At a mean sulfur concentration of 30 ppmw in the treated accumulated fuel, the best capacity achieved is 1.98 mg S/g adsorbent. The scaling-up strategies for the fixed-bed reactor and the method for adsorbent regeneration are also investigated. Finally, preliminary tests of adsorbent regeneration showed that the first-time regenerated adsorbent could recover 83% of the sulfur removal capacity compared to a fresh adsorbent, and a second time regeneration could recover 50.4% of that of fresh adsorbent.