Simultaneous removal of sulphide and nickel by the compound of Chitosan Schiff Base from crude oil under microwave irradiation

A study has been carried out for simultaneous desulfurization and demetalization by electric desalting from crude oil based on the oxidation of alkyl thiophene and nickel compounds with the compound of Chitosan Schiff Base under the condition of microwave irradiation (SDDM). Besides, an investigation has been made about the influence of Chitosan Schiff Base compound dose, initial temperature, and microwave time on desulfurization and demetalization. By using the optimized conditions for SDDM, up to 56% of sulfur and 82% of nickel removal rates were achieved for model compounds in crude oil samples. With the same conditions but without microwave the removal efficiency was lower than 56% for sulfur model compound and than 82% for nickel porphyrin in crude oil samples. Additionally, in order to develop a fundamental understanding of the SDDM mechanism of sulfides, a molecular simulation of sulfur compounds was performed with both the Hartree–Fock (HF) and second-order Moller–Plesset (MP2) levels of theory for the calculation of reaction kinetic rate by using Gaussian 03 program package. In comparison with conventional desulfurization and demetalization technology, the proposed SDDM process can accomplish the simultaneous removal of sulfur and nickel compounds from crude oil under relatively mild conditions.