Novel Photo Catalytic Baffled Reactor for Eco-Friendly and Deep Diesel Desulfurization Process using Magnetic Heterogeneous Catalyst
摘要
The rising global demand for energy, coupled with the decline of conventional crude oil reserves, underscores the urgent need for alternative utilization of heavy fuels. At the same time, the high sulfur content of middle and heavy fuel fractions calls for cost-effective desulfurization processes to address environmental and health concerns. This study aims to achieve deep desulfurization of diesel fuel using a digital basket baffled reactor (DBBR) with Fe2O3/activated carbon (AC) and Fe2O3/TiO2 as heterogeneous magnetic catalysts. The catalysts were synthesized and characterized using Brunauer–Emmett–Teller surface area analysis (BET), scanning electron microscopy with energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (SEM–EDX), X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), and X-ray fluorescence (XRF), and their performance was evaluated under varying operating conditions. The digital basket baffled reactor (DBBR) provides a novel photocatalytic configuration that improves both mixing and light distribution compared with conventional systems. Under optimized conditions, Fe2O3/AC achieved up to 93% sulfur removal and Fe2O3/TiO2 reached 87%, demonstrating the efficiency of this eco-friendly process for producing cleaner diesel fuel.