Fabrication of nitrogen-doped porous carbon adsorbents for highly efficient adsorptive denitrification and desulfurization

Abstract

Adsorption is one of the most promising technologies for desulfurization and denitrification. However, developing adsorbents possessing both deep desulfurization and denitrification in fuels to meet increasingly stringent industrial production requirements remains a challenge. Here, we report a new series of nitrogen-doped porous carbon adsorbents [NPC-Ts, T = 500 °C, 600 °C, 700 °C and 800 °C] with proper pore structures, large specific surface area and moderate nitrogen species, which were synthesized by the carbonization of a N-containing precursor polymer generated from the polymerization of 1,4-butanediamine and 1,3,5-tris(chloromethyl)-2,4,6-tris(methyl)benzene. The NPC-Ts show efficient adsorptive capacity for 4,6-dimethyldibenzothiophene, thiophene, indole and quinoline in the model fuel, and stable performance on these NPC-Ts can be observed after 10 cycles of regeneration and reuse. Especially, NPC-700 exhibits a record high adsorptive capacity for indole (8.33 mmol g⁻¹) in the model fuel. In parallel, an excellent adsorptive capacity for 4,6-dimethyldibenzothiophene (2.68 mmol g⁻¹) can also be observed on NPC-700. Thus, these NPC-Ts could have good application prospects in the denitrification and desulfurization process.