Detailed vacuum-assisted desulfurization of high-sulfur petroleum coke

• Published in: Separation and purification technology 2017-03, Vol.175, p.115-121
• Main Authors: Chen, Zhengjie, Ma, Wenhui, Wei, Kuixian, Wu, Jijun, Li, Shaoyuan, Zhang, Cong, Yu, Zhiqiang, Xie, Keqiang, Yu, Jie
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Desulfurization; Mechanism; Particles sizes; Petroleum coke; Vacuum; X-ray diffractometer
• ISSN: 1383-5866; 1873-3794
• DOI: 10.1016/j.seppur.2016.11.035

•Vacuum applied to the desulfurization of high-sulfur petroleum coke was investigated.•Different feeding layer depth, heat treatment temperature, holding time, particle sizes, and vacuum degree were studied.•The application of vacuum improved the sulfur removal efficiency was found.•The elemental sulfur can be obtained by vacuum-assisted desulfurization from petroleum coke. In this research, the sulfur removal efficiency from high-sulfur petroleum coke in the presence of vacuum was investigated. Different feeding layer depth, heat treatment temperature, holding time, particle sizes, and vacuum degree were studied. The feeding layer has a significant effect on the sulfur removal rate, and the optimal feeding layer was 30mm. A higher sulfur removal rate was obtained at 1500°C, with a holding time of 2h, particle sizes of −150μm, and 1Pa vacuum. It was evident that the application of vacuum improved the sulfur removal efficiency. More importantly, elemental sulfur can be obtained instead of SO2 emission that occurs during traditional desulfurization by high-temperature calcinations. Finally, the mechanism of sulfur removal from petroleum coke was analyzed by XRD.