Adsorptive removal of thiophene over nickel-based ZnO with different supports

The nickel-based ZnO adsorbents were prepared by mix-kneading method using different supports with metal-oxide, clay and zeolite. The physiochemical properties of the catalysts were characterized using FT-IR. Then the chemical adsorption performance of thiophene on the adsorbents was studied in a fixed bed stainless steel tubular micro-reactor. The results show that the desulfurization performance varies for different adsorbents. The desulfurization performance of adsorbents with clay supports is higher than that of metal-oxide supports. The desulfurization performance decreases in order of clay-sorb > diatomite-sorb > Al-sorb > Ti-sorb. The sulfur removal rate increases with the total Lewis acidity of the adsorbent. The desulfurization performance decreases in the order of MCM-22-sorb > HY-sorb ≥ Hβ-sorb > H-mordenite-sorb > HZSM-5-sorb. By comparing the pore structure of zeolite supports, it shows that the effective pore size of zeolite supports is the key factor to influence the desulfurization activity.