Desulfurization of Crude Oils, Diesels, and Oil Fractions by Treatment with Ozone and Metal Chlorides

Abstract

West Siberian crude oils from the Samotlorskoye oil field, diesel fractions, and I-20A industrial oil were desulfurized with metal chlorides (ZnCl2, FeCl3, and AlCl3) and with a reagent complex (formulation) consisting of 70 wt % AlCl3, 25 wt % oxygenated diesel fuel, and 5 wt % NaOH. Purification of a mixed diesel fraction with an AlCl3 + NaOH (at a weight ratio of 10 : 1) formulation reduced the sulfur content in the diesel mixture from 0.82 to 0.146%. When purifying I-20A with a formulation at a weight ratio of 1 : 1, the sulfur content in the oil decreased from 0.2 to 0.03%. When the West Siberian crude oil (in which organosulfur compounds had been pre-oxygenated by an ozone–oxygen mixture into sulfoxides and sulfones) was purified with a formulation at a weight ratio of 20 : 1, the sulfur content was reduced from 1.8 to 0.5 wt %. The spent formulation was disposed of by introduction into bitumen.