Removal of basic nitrogen compounds from diesel by ternary complex denitrification agent

ABSTRACT

The basic nitrogen compounds (BNC) in diesel affect the storage equipments and performance of diesel. In this study, a ternary complex denitrification agent including aluminum chloride hexahydrate, methanol, and hydrochloric acid was used to remove BNC. The effects of all process parameters on removing BNC were reviewed systematically. The results showed that the optimum denitrification process was that ratio of aluminum chloride hexahydrate to methanol to hydrochloric acid was 0.09 g:20 mL:2.5 mL, mass ratio of denitrification agents to diesel was 0.5, reaction time was 3 min, reaction temperature was 35°C, and resting time was 15 min. Under the optimum condition, the denitrification rate reached 97.2% and the recovery rate was 96.5%. The denitrification process had a little effect on other physicochemical properties of diesel.

KEYWORDS:

• Basic nitrogen compounds
• denitrification rate
• diesel
• remove
• ternary complex denitrification agent

Funding

This work was supported by the Key Science and Technology Project of Zigong City (No. 2016XC09) and the Scientific Research Project of Sichuan Provincial Department of Education (No. 17ZB0311).