Comparative Study of the Effects of Various Activation Methods on the Desulfurization Performance of Petroleum Coke

Abstract

Petroleum coke, an economical carbonaceous material, has great potential application as activated carbon materials for the removal of SO2. In this study, six common activation methods, including hydrothermal, high temperature, acid, alkali, H2O2 and Cu 2+ activation were used to prepare activated petroleum coke. Their desulfurization performance was evaluated by investigating the dynamic SO2 adsorption along with various relevant factors. The results demonstrated that the high-temperature activation could adjust the structure and chemical properties of petroleum coke, and the initial desulfurization efficiency of the obtained sample reach 76.4% with a surface area of 59.0 m 2 g-1. The specific surface area of HNO3-PC is up to 247.7 m 2 g-1 , as a consequence of exhibiting an obviously increased desulfurization performance with the SO2 removal rate above 82%. The sample activated with KOH/coke ratio of 4:1 presented the optimal desulfurization performance with the SO2 removal rate of 96.3% under the optimal conditions. Further comparative investigation on the physicochemical property properties revealed that both optimized texture structure and increased amount of active sites of activated petroleum coke were responsible for the high desulfurization performance. The obtained results demonstrated that activated petroleum coke as a unique carbonaceous material with several favorable properties could distinctly be a promising sorbent for acidic SO2 in industrial flue gas desulfurization.

Deep Desulfurization of High-Sulfur Petroleum Coke via Alkali Catalytic Roasting Combined with Ultrasonic Oxidation

“…The experiment, conducted under inert atmospheric conditions, involved an initial sulfur mass fraction of 6.50%, an alkali-to-petroleum-coke ratio of 50%, a temperature of 500 °C, and a reaction time of 2 h. The results indicated a 98.1% desulfurization rate of petroleum coke. Askari et al [ 39 ] employed KOH for sulfur removal and achieved an 84.3% desulfurization rate under an initial sulfur content of 6.18%, an alkali-to-petroleum-coke ratio of 1:3, a reaction temperature of 600 °C, and a reaction time of 2 h. Similarly, Zhu et al [ 40 ] utilized KOH and obtained a desulfurization rate of 96.3% under an initial sulfur content of 0.81% and an alkali-to-petroleum-coke ratio of 25%. Cao et al [ 41 ] further enhanced the desulfurization effect of petroleum coke by introducing alkali in a roaster under vacuum conditions.…”