Ultrafine Ru species within confined space: An efficient adsorbent for ultra-deep desulfurization of benzene

• Published in: Chemosphere (Oxford) Vol. 256; p. 127077
• Main Authors: An, Nihong, Wang, Hongqin, Zhang, Mengxu, Xie, Jiyang, Dai, Yunsheng, Yuan, Xiaoling, Geng, Longlong
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: England Elsevier Ltd 01.10.2020
• Subjects: adsorbents; adsorption; Al additives; aluminum; Benzene; correlation; desulfurization; exhibitions; industrial applications; methodology; microstructure; Ru nanoparticle; sulfur; sulfur compounds; Ultra-deep desulfurization; Ultra-deep desulfurization; Al additives; Benzene; Ru nanoparticle
• ISSN: 0045-6535; 1879-1298; 1879-1298
• DOI: 10.1016/j.chemosphere.2020.127077

The ultra-deep adsorptive desulfurization (ppb level) of benzene remains a challenging subject with the need to construct efficient adsorbent systems. Herein, a kind of ruthenium-based adsorbent functionalized with bimetallic Ru–Al was rationally designed using Al2O3 as support (denoted as 0.8%Ru-1.2%Al/Al2O3). It was found that the co-anchoring of Ru and Al species endows the Ru-based adsorbent unique adsorption capability, which is able to completely eliminate sulfur compounds in benzene, and exhibiting a much higher breakthrough sulfur capacity than that of the 0.8%Ru/Al2O3. Remarkably, under the industrial experiment conditions, 0.8%Ru-1.2%Al/Al2O3 exhibited excellent long-term stability for more than 1200 h, showing the potential for industrial application. Various characterization techniques, including BET, XRD, SEM, TEM, TPD-MS, TPR and XPS, were used to investigate the correlation between the adsorption performance and the microstructure of the adsorbents. Over 0.8%Ru-1.2%Al/Al2O3, the ultra-thin aluminum additive is beneficial to improve the dispersion of Ru species, which therefore exhibits desirable desulfurization efficiency. Moreover, the enhanced performance is also correlated to the presence of the suitable Ru active centers generated from the selective coverage by Al species. It leads to an optimal exposure of the Ru active centers, which would facilitate the interaction of S–Ru and the improvement of the desulfurization activity. The co-anchoring of Ru and Al species in 0.8%Ru-1.2%Al/Al2O3 adsorbent could facile the homogeneous dispersion and optimal exposure of Ru centers, which is responsible for its high adsorption capability and excellent long-term stability during ultra-deep adsorptive desulfurization process. [Display omitted] •Bimetallic Ru–Al/Al2O3 adsorbent is synthesized and structurally characterized.•Excellent capability for ultra-deep desulfurization is achieved.•Ru–Al/Al2O3 exhibits excellent long-term stability for more than 1200 h.•The optimal exposure of Ru centers contributes to the outstanding performance.