New ceria-based selective adsorbents for removing sulfur from gasoline for fuel cell applications

Ceo₂ has been known as an excellent support for base and noble metals in various catalytic process, including auto exhaust three-way catalysts. Taking into account the interesting properties of the CeO₂, Ceo₂-based regenerable adsorbents were developed for the removal of thiophenic sulfur compounds in the gasoline containing 265 ppm wt of sulfur in the form of thiophene. The adsorption capacity of CeO₂ was only about 2 mg/g of adsorbent and the capacity increased up to about 9 mg/g when 10 atomic % Y, La, Zn, Ni, Sr, and Ag doped on to CeO₂. Y- and La-CeO₂ showed sulfur adsorption capacity almost 4.5 times larger compared to the capacity of CeO₂ alone.