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Desulfurization of benzothiophene with molybdenum naphthenate. Application of statistical analysis to evaluate the role of donor solvent
Author(s) -
Ng F. T. T.,
Walker G. R.
Publication year - 1991
Publication title -
the canadian journal of chemical engineering
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.404
H-Index - 67
eISSN - 1939-019X
pISSN - 0008-4034
DOI - 10.1002/cjce.5450690405
Subject(s) - benzothiophene , ethylbenzene , flue gas desulfurization , tetralin , chemistry , molybdenum , hydrodesulfurization , solvent , dibenzothiophene , organic chemistry , hydrogen , catalysis , thiophene , inorganic chemistry
The activities of molybdenum naphthenate and cobalt naphthenate for benzothiophene desulfurization are studied at 350 to 400°C and 6.9 to 13.8 MPa pressure. Molybdenum is found to be more active than cobalt naphthenate for desulfurization. At 400°C, using 10 4 mg/kg Mo on benzothiophene in tetralin under 6.9 MPa H 2 , over 90 mol % conversion of benzothiophene to ethylbenzene is observed. No styrene is detected. The dominant pathway for desulfurization is proposed to be via the initial hydrogenation to dihydrobenzothiophene, followed by elimination of H 2 S to generate ethylbenzene. The relative roles of donor solvent and molecular hydrogen in desulfurization are evaluated using a novel application of statistical analysis and fractional factorial design. At 4000 mg/kg Mo on benzothiophene, statistical analysis clearly isolates hydrogen atmosphere as the dominant factor affecting benzothiophene conversion. This result is also in agreement with thermodynamic predictions where benzothiophene conversion proceeds more favorably with hydrogen relative to tetralin.