Selective sulfur removal from liquid hydrocarbons over regenerable CeO₂-TiO₂ adsorbents for fuel cell applications

Taking into account of the interesting properties of the CeO₂, the CeO₂-based regenerable adsorbents for the removal of thiophenic sulfur compounds present in the gasoline were developed. High surface area CeO₂-TiO₂ bimetallic oxides with various molar ratios synthesized by coprecipitation were used as adsorbents for the desulfurization of a model gasoline containing 430 ppm wt of sulfur in the form of thiophene, tetrahydrothiophene, benzothiophene, and 2-methylbenzothiophene in a fixed-bed flow reactor at ambient temperature and pressure. The bi-metal oxides had good selectivity for the organic sulfur compounds.