SK Hydrodesulfurization (HDS) Pretreatment Technology for Ultralow Sulfur Diesel (ULSD) Production

SK Corporation of Korea has developed a unique process, SK hydrodesulfurization (HDS) pretreatment technology, to produce ultralow sulfur diesel (ULSD) with pretreatment of the middle-distillate-range petroleum fractions. This technology has been successfully demonstrated through a 1000 barrel/day (B/D) demonstration plant, which has been running since May 2002. This technology is based on the adsorptive removal of a small amount of nitrogen-based natural polar compounds (NPC). Dramatic improvement in deep HDS efficiency is observed with the removal of NPC from the feedstock.SK HDS pretreatment process consists of multiple adsorbers, two stripping columns for desorbent recovery, associated pumps, and overhead system. Middle distillate feed is pretreated prior to HDS process in the adsorbent vessels followed by stripping to remove a small amount of desorbent. The pretreated is then sent to the downstream HDS unit for sulfur removal. The rejected stream with high nitrogen content, about 2vol%, can be either used as a blending stock for heavy petroleum products or processed in other refining units.This paper describes the fundamental principle of the process, discusses the case study results with various feedstocks and operation conditions in pilot plant and demonstration plant, and provides economic assessment data.     

Determination of traces of aromatic compounds in multicomponent mixtures by HRCGC

The possibilities and difficulties of trace analysis of highly complex organic mixtures has been demonstrated by the analysis of traces of numerous aromatic substances in an n-alkane matrix with a boiling point range of 151–270°C. Single column high resolution capillary gas chromatography (under optimized conditions) was performed after an off-line LC preseparation step which had been evaluated using a model mixture. Gas chromatographic quantitation of the 191 aromatic compounds identified was performed with an internal standard; following splitless injection and separation on a polydimethyl-siloxane column under temperature-programmed conditions the compounds were detected by flame ionization. The response factors of aromatic hydrocarbons at trace levels were verified and the precision and reproducibility both of the GC determination and the overall analysis, including preseparation, were studied. Percentage by weight of individual aromatic compounds (mainly alkylbenzenes, indanes, naphthalenes, and acenaphthenes) was in the range 10^?3 to 10^?6.     

Interaction forces between a deformable air bubble and a spherical particle of tuneable hydrophobicity and surface charge in aqueous solutions

Unsupported nanosized MoS(2) and CoMo-sulfide catalysts were synthesized, and their catalytic performances for the deep hydrodesulfurization (HDS) of treated gas oil were investigated as compared with that of a CoMo/Al(2)O(3) catalyst. The HDS reactions were carried out in a batch autoclave reactor at 340 °C and 3 MPa H(2). The CoMo-sulfide catalyst shows the highest activity and can reduce the sulfur content to less than 10 ppm. The decrease in total sulfur content as a function of reaction time was found to follow pseudo-second order kinetics (empirical form). The change in the concentration of some individual representative sulfur-containing species in gas oil as a function of time was found to follow pseudo-first-order kinetics. However, the change in combined concentration of these species in the gas oil during HDS with the reaction time was found to corroborate pseudo-second-order kinetics. A kinetic model approach was proposed from which an estimation of the intrinsic kinetic data can be achieved. The model fitted the obtained data reasonably well, suggesting its potential for better assessment of the catalytic activity in the HDS of real feedstock. The study reveals that ranking of catalyst activities using model refractory sulfur-containing compounds does not necessarily imply a typical rank in case of investigating the real feedstocks.     

白石湖煤液化粗油加氢精制过程硫、氮化合物转化规律

采用实沸点蒸馏仪对白石湖煤液化油进行馏分切割,切取<170℃液化粗油进行加氢精制脱除其中硫、氮化合物,采用硫化学发光气相色谱仪（GC-SCD）、氮化学发光气相色谱仪（GC-NCD）对液化粗油和精制油中硫、氮化合物进行分析表征,研究加氢精制过程硫、氮化合物的转化规律。结果表明,液化粗油中含硫化合物主要是噻吩类化合物和硫醇,经过加氢精制后基本消失,苯并噻酚类化合物脱除比例要低于噻吩类化合物,属于较难脱除含硫化合物。液化粗油中含氮化合物主要是苯胺类化合物,其次是吲哚类化合物,经过加氢精制吲哚类化合物全被脱除,苯胺和喹啉类化合物属于碱性含氮化合物,是精制油中残留的主要含氮化合物,含量达1.61 mg/kg。     

Analysis of sulfur-containing compounds in crude oils by comprehensive two-dimensional gas chromatography with sulfur chemiluminescence detection

This paper reports an analytical method for separating, identifying, and quantifying sulfur-containing compounds in crude oil fraction (IBP-360 degrees C) samples based on comprehensive two-dimensional gas chromatography coupled with a sulfur chemiluminescence detector. Various sulfur-containing compounds and their groups were analyzed with one direct injection. 3620 peaks were detected including 1722 thiols/thioethers/ disulfides/1-ring thiophenes, 953 benzothiophenes, 704 dibenzothiophenes, and 241 benzonaphthothiophenes. The target sulfur compounds and their groups were identified based on the group separation feature and structured retention of comprehensive two-dimensional gas chromatography as well as standard substances. The quantitative analysis of major sulfur-containing compounds and total sulfur was based on the linear response of the sulfur chemiluminescence detector using the internal standard method. The sulfur contents of target sulfur compounds and their groups in 4 crude oil fractions were also determined. The recoveries for standard sulfur-containing compounds were in the range of 90-102%. The quantitative result of total sulfur in the Oman crude oil fraction sample was compared with those from ASTM D 4294 standard method (total S by X-ray fluorescence spectrometry), the relative deviation (RD%) was 4.2% and the precision of the method satisfactory.     

A Simple and Rapid CZE Determination of Tiapride Hydrochloride and Related Impurities in Pharmaceutical Formulations

A simple, fast, inexpensive capillary zone electrophoresis method for the separation and determination of tiapride hydrochloride and its two related impurities in pharmaceutical formulations has been developed and validated. The successful separation of these compounds was achieved in less than 3 min using a fused silica capillary and photodiode array detector at 218 nm. The best conditions were obtained using a 10 mM sodium tetraborate (pH 8.0) as the running buffer. The linear responses covered the ranges from 1.0 to 100 μg mL^?1 (R = 0.9989) for tiapride hydrochloride. The detection (LOD) and quantitation limits (LOQ) for tiapride hydrochloride were 2.7 and 9.0 μg mL^?1, respectively. The intra- and inter-day relative standard deviations for migration times and peak areas were less than 0.47 and 5.7%, respectively. The method was validated for the determination of tiapride hydrochloride in commercial tablets.     

Flow injection gas chromatography with sulfur chemiluminescence detection for the analysis of total sulfur in complex hydrocarbon matrixes

A fast and reliable analytical technique for the determination of total sulfur levels in complex hydrocarbon matrices is introduced. The method employed flow injection technique using a gas chromatograph as a sample introduction device and a gas phase dual‐plasma sulfur chemiluminescence detector for sulfur quantification. Using the technique described, total sulfur measurement in challenging hydrocarbon matrices can be achieved in less than 10 s with sample‐to‐sample time <2 min. The high degree of selectivity and sensitivity toward sulfur compounds of the detector offers the ability to measure low sulfur levels with a detection limit in the range of 20 ppb w/w S. The equimolar response characteristic of the detector allows the quantitation of unknown sulfur compounds and simplifies the calibration process. Response is linear over a concentration range of five orders of magnitude, with a high degree of repeatability. The detector's lack of response to hydrocarbons enables direct analysis without the need for time‐consuming sample preparation and chromatographic separation processes. This flow injection‐based sulfur chemiluminescence detection technique is ideal for fast analysis or trace sulfur analysis.     

气相色谱-原子发射光谱联用技术测定柴油中硫化物

采用气相色谱－原子发射光谱（GC－AED）联用技术对柴油中硫化物进行了定性定量研究，考察了柴油加氢脱硫处理前后硫化物的变化及不同柴油原料硫化物的分布情况。结果表明，1＃柴油可定性出33类硫化物，经加氢脱硫处理后，1－1＃和1－2＃样品硫含量可由1497mg/L分别降到165.1mg/L和90.4mg/L，平均脱除率为89.0%和94.0%。其中噻吩或苯并噻吩的脱除率为100％；C1二苯并噻吩的肿除率为90.0%和96.2%;C2二苯并噻吩的脱除率为80.6%和91.7%；C3二苯并噻吩的脱除率为72.6%和84.4%；C4二苯并噻吩的脱除率为79.0%和90.3%;C5或C6二苯并噻吩的脱除率为58.4%和68.4%；未知硫化物脱除率95.7%和97.9%。噻吩类脱除率视取代基的大小、个数和取代位置的不同脱除率不同；不同原料 总硫和各种硫化物含量差别很大，应根据其硫化物的分布特点，有针对性地研制开发加氢脱硫的催化剂及选择合适的加工工艺。     

Automated separation and quantitation of lipid fractions by high-performance liquid chromatography and mass detection

This report describes an improved separation and quantitation of lipid fractions in a total lipid extract by high-performance liquid chromatography using a modified solvent and gradient system delivered by dual pumps and incorporating a mass detector and autosampler. The detector responses for various lipid fractions (cholesteryl esters, triacylglycerols, free cholesterol, and seven major phospholipid classes) were fitted to a quadratic equation, y = ax2 + bx + c, and quantified after detector calibration by a computer. This new system has the advantage of automation and reproducible separation. The present method was applied to rat liver analysis.     

全二维气相色谱/飞行时间质谱用于柴油组成的研究

将全二维气相色谱法(GC×GC)用于柴油馏分的组成分布研究,建立了两种GC×GC方法,一种用于柴油组成的详细表征,另一种用于柴油族组成的快速分离和定量,两种方法均不需要样品预处理。用前一种方法对柴油馏分中的烃类化合物、主要的含硫化合物与含氮化合物组成进行了研究;对催化裂解柴油中的27种含氮化合物和42种含硫化合物进行了定性;用后一种方法在70 min内即可完成柴油馏分族组成的定量分析,应用所建立的方法测定了4个不同来源的柴油馏分中非芳烃、一环芳烃、二环芳烃、三环芳烃的含量,定量结果与ASTM D2425法     

Determination of total and speciated sulfur content in petrochemical samples using a pulsed flame photometric detector

The pulsed flame photometric detector (PFPD) has the advantage of being able to measure the concentration of individual sulfur compounds and total sulfur content in a petrochemical sample in a single gas chromatography run. Because it is an equimolar response detector, the PFPD's sulfur response is independent of a compound's molecular structure, and this feature allows quantitation of the total or speciated sulfur content in complex samples using a single calibrant. This paper is a survey describing a variety of applications using the PFPD for sulfur quantitation in petrochemical matrices. Several different approaches to quantitation are described, and simple techniques for circumventing the quenching of the sulfur signal by coeluting hydrocarbon peaks are discussed. Examples from a range of real-world samples are presented.     

Sulfur speciation of Kuwaiti crude oils fractions using two-dimensional gas chromatography

The main objective of this study is to develop a methodology for sulfur compounds speciation using two-dimensional gas chromatography coupled with a flame ionization detector and sulfur chemiluminescence detectors. The methodology enhances the ability to detect and quantify the refractory sulfur in petroleum distillates, and it was utilized to screen the molecular differences between distillates of two Kuwaiti heavy crude oils from different reservoirs but with similar physical properties. Despite the similarity in the physical properties, the detailed comparative analysis indicated significant differences in molecular composition, which suggests substantial differences in crude oil processability based on the reactivity of the detected compounds. The distillates that have been considered in this study include heavy naphtha, kerosene, and gas oil. The compositional differences between the distillates were observed using the two-dimensional gas chromatography system with an in-house developed method. This method groups the sulfur compounds into thiols, benzothiophenes (BTs), and dibenzothiophene (DBTs), and it can handle any atmospheric distillate up 365 °C. Furthermore, the method includes the possibility of identifying and quantifying a total number of 44 sulfur species, which covers the previously mentioned sulfur groups.     

Programmed automation of modulator cold jet flow for comprehensive two-dimensional gas chromatographic analysis of vacuum gas oils

A method is described for automating the regulation of cold jet flow of a comprehensive two-dimensional gas chromatograph (GCxGC) configured with flame ionization detection. This new capability enables the routine automated separation, identification, and quantitation of hydrocarbon types in petroleum fractions extending into the vacuum gas oil (VGO) range (IBP-540 degrees C). Chromatographic data acquisition software is programmed to precisely change the rate of flow from the cold jet of a nitrogen cooled loop modulator of a GCxGC instrument during sample analysis. This provides for the proper modulation of sample compounds across a wider boiling range. The boiling point distribution of the GCxGC separation is shown to be consistent with high temperature simulated distillation results indicating recovery of higher boiling semi-volatile VGO sample components. GCxGC configured with time-of-flight mass spectrometry is used to determine the molecular identity of individual sample components and boundaries of different molecular types.     

Simultaneous use of fluorescence,ultraviolet, and electrochemical detectors in high performance liquid chromatography-separation and identification of phenolic antioxidants and related compounds

Isocratic conditions are described for the separation, identification and quantitation of selected phenolic antioxidants and related compounds by high performance liquid chromatography on a reverse phase microparticulate ODS column. Mobile phases containing 0.05 M lithium perchlorate in aqueous methanol are used. Three detection systems: ultraviolet; fluorescence; and electrochemical detectors are connected in tandem. The use of these three detection systems in sequence as additional means for separation, identification, and quantitation is demonstrated. Other advantages of the system include speed of analyses and improved detection. The ? values and detector responses at 2 settings per detector for 12 compounds are reported.     

Automated determination of carboxylic acids in biological and geochemical samples by means of a chemical reaction detector

Rapid evaluation of carboxylic acids by means of an automated spectrophotometric determination in a continuous-flow system is described. The system was applied to food and soil extracts either as a stand-alone device or as a chemical reaction detector coupled to a chromatographic separation column. Calibration in the automated system was performed with citric acid as a reference standard in the concentration range 4.76 × 10^?5?4.76 × 10^?3 mol l^?1. The molar calibration equation was A=64x ? 6.7 × 10^?5 (x=concentration ) with a correlation coefficient of 0.9997 ( six points). The sample volume was 0.5 ml. In addition to the semi-quantitative evaluation of carboxylic groups, it is shown that the system is also applicable to species analyses.     

Highly active CoMo HDS catalyst for the production of clean diesel fuels

HY–Al₂O₃-supported CoMo catalysts with a chelating agent and phosphorus for the hydrodesulfurization (HDS) of diesel fractions were prepared. The activity measurements with the prepared catalysts were carried out with straight-run light gas oil feedstocks in a pilot plant under industrial hydrotreating conditions. As a result, Cosmo Oil Co., Ltd. developed a new CoMoP/HY–Al₂O₃ catalyst, C-606A, which had three times higher HDS activity than the conventional CoMoP/Al₂O₃ catalyst. Commercial operations to produce ultra-low sulfur diesel (ULSD) with C-606A have successfully demonstrated its high performance and high stability. This catalyst has an extremely high activity, which enables to achieve <10-ppm sulfur in products in diesel hydrotreater designed to produce 500-ppm sulfur diesel fuels. Mo K-edge EXAFS, TEM and FT-IR of adsorbed NO were performed to investigate the nature of the active sites on the developed catalysts. The results showed that the new catalyst has multiple layers of MoS₂ slabs and the edges of MoS₂ are mainly occupied by Co–Mo–S phases. XPS and FT-IR were used to investigate the sulfiding behavior of Co and Mo in the formation process of the active sites during sulfidation. The results showed that addition of carboxylic acid to the impregnation solution postponed the sulfidation of Co at low temperatures, thereby increasing formation of the Co–Mo–S phase.     

Gas Chromatographic Determination of Guanidino Compounds Using Hexafluoroacetylacetone and Ethyl Chloroformate as Derivatizing Reagents

Guanidino compounds guanidine, methylguanidine, guanidinoacetic acid, guanidinobutyric acid, guanidinopropionic acid, and guanidinosuccinic acid after derivatization with hexafluoroacetylacetone and ethyl chloroformate at pH 9 in aqueous phase, eluted, and separated from gas chromatographic column HP-5 (30 m × 0.32 mm id) with film thickness of 0.25 μm at an initial column temperature 90 °C for 2 min, followed by heating rate of 10 °C min^?1 up to 220 °C with nitrogen flow rate of 1 mL min^?1. The detection was by flame ionization detector. The linear calibration ranges of each of guanidino compounds were obtained within 1–10 μg mL^?1, and the limit of detection was within 0.014–0.19 μg mL^?1. The derivatization and gas chromatography elution and separation were repeatable in terms of retention time and peak height/peak area with relative standard deviation (RSD) (n = 4) within 1.7–2.9 % and 1.4–2.8 %, respectively. The method was applied for the determination of guanidino compounds from deproteinized serum of uremic patients and healthy volunteers, and was found in the range below the limit of quantitation (BLOQ) to 1.25 μg mL^?1 with RSD within 1.4–3.6 %, and BLOQ to 0.4 μg mL^?1 with RSD 1.3–3.4 %, respectively. A number of pharmaceutical additives did not effect the determination with RSD within ±3.1 %.     

Two dimensional assisted liquid chromatography – a chemometric approach to improve accuracy and precision of quantitation in liquid chromatography using 2D separation,dual detectors,and multivariate curve resolution

Comprehensive two-dimensional liquid chromatography (LC × LC) is rapidly evolving as the preferred method for the analysis of complex biological samples owing to its much greater resolving power compared to conventional one-dimensional (1D-LC). While its enhanced resolving power makes this method appealing, it has been shown that the precision of quantitation in LC × LC is generally not as good as that obtained with 1D-LC. The poorer quantitative performance of LC × LC is due to several factors including but not limited to the undersampling of the first dimension and the dilution of analytes during transit from the first dimension (¹D) column to the second dimension (²D) column, and the larger relative background signals. A new strategy, 2D assisted liquid chromatography (2DALC), is presented here. 2DALC makes use of a diode array detector placed at the end of each column, producing both multivariate ¹D and two-dimensional (2D) chromatograms. The increased resolution of the analytes provided by the addition of a second dimension of separation enables the determination of analyte absorbance spectra from the ²D detector signal that are relatively pure and can be used to initiate the treatment of data from the first dimension detector using multivariate curve resolution–alternating least squares (MCR–ALS). In this way, the approach leverages the strengths of both separation methods in a single analysis: the ²D detector data is used to provide relatively pure analyte spectra to the MCR–ALS algorithm, and the final quantitative results are obtained from the resolved ¹D chromatograms, which has a much higher sampling rate and lower background signal than obtained in conventional single detector LC × LC, to obtain accurate and precise quantitative results. It is shown that 2DALC is superior to both single detector selective or comprehensive LC × LC and 1D-LC for quantitation of compounds that appear as severely overlapped peaks in the ¹D chromatogram – this is especially true in the case of untargeted analyses. We also anticipate that 2DALC will provide superior quantitation in targeted analyses in which unknown interfering compounds overlap with the targeted compound(s). When peaks are significantly overlapped in the first dimension, 2DALC can decrease the error of quantitation (i.e., improve the accuracy by up to 14-fold compared to 1D-LC and up to 3.8-fold compared to LC × LC with a single multivariate detector). The degree of improvement in performance varies depending upon the degree of peak overlap in each dimension and the selectivities of the spectra with respect to one another and the background, as well as the extent of analyte dilution prior to the ²D column.     

Ultra Deep Hydrodesulfurization of Gas Oils Over Sulfide and/or Noble Metal Catalysts

Deep hydrodesulfurization (HDS) of sterically hindered sulfur compounds in gas oils will require enhanced hydrogenation activity to hydrogenate the aromatic rings of the sulfur compounds. Although H₂S is known to inhibit the direct HDS route for most of the sulfided catalysts, its promotion to the hydrogenation and subsequent HDS was newly observed for unsupported MoS₂. This promotion suggests that ultra deep HDS over sulfide catalysts can be achieved along with high metal loading, minimal support-metal interactions and optimal dependence on the Ni species. On the other hand, the strong hydrogenation activity of sulfur-tolerant noble metal catalysts suggests that ultra deep HDS as well as deep aromatics saturation can be achieved. This paper discusses recent catalytic approaches for ultra deep HDS using conventional sulfide catalysts and/or noble metal catalysts, such as the newly developed Pd-Pt/Yb-USY zeolite catalyst.     

Chromatographic Application on Calixarene Bonded Stationary Phases: A Stability Indicating LC-Method for Determination of Celecoxib in Tablet Formulation

A method is described for extraction and quantification of celecoxib in tablets. The extraction was achieved through centrifugation of the fine powder of the tablets in Acetonitrile (ACN). The extract was examined by LC. The chromatographic separation was carried out on a Caltrex AIII column, a relatively new packing material consisting of silica-bonded calix[8]arene, using isocratic binary mobile phase of ACN and H₂O (55%:45%, v/v). A diode array detector was used at 254 nm for detection. The method was validated for system suitability, linearity, precision, limits of detection and quantitation, specificity, stability and robustness. The limits of detection and quantitation were 0.122 and 0.488 μg mL^?1, respectively. The recovery value of this method was 101.88% and the reproducibility was within 2.08.