Study on extraction of thiophene from model gasoline with brønsted acidic ionic liquids

Abstract

Brønsted acidic ionic liquids (ILs), N-methylimidazole hydrogen sulfate ([HMIm]HSO₄) and N-methylpyrrolidone hydrogen sulfate ([HNMP]HSO₄), are synthesized and employed as extractants to extract thiophene from model gasoline (thiophene dissolved in n-octane). The effect of extraction temperature, extraction time and volume ratio of ILs to model gasoline on desulfurization rates is investigated. Then, the optimal desulfurization conditions are obtained: the ratio of ILs to model gasoline is 1∶1, extraction temperature is 50°C for [HMIm]HSO₄ and 60°C for [HNMP]HSO₄, extraction time is 60 min. Meanwhile, the desulfurization rate of [HNMP]HSO₄ for model gasoline is 62.8%, which is higher than that of [HMIm]HSO₄ (55.5%) under optimal conditions. The reason is discussed on the basis of the interaction energy between thiophene and ILs at the B3LYP/6-311++ G(d,p) level. Furthermore, the total desulfurization rate of [HNMP]HSO₄ and [HMIm]HSO₄ reaches 96.4% and 94.4%, respectively, by multistage extraction. Finally, the used ILs can be reused by vacuum drying, and their desulfurization rates are not significantly decreased after recycling 7 times in single-stage desulfurization.

Key words： brønsted ionic liquids; model gasoline; thiophene; extraction; density functional theory

Acknowledgments

This research was financially supported by the Natural Science Fund for Colleges and Universities of Jiangsu Province (09KJB530002).

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