Oxidative desulfurization of hydrocarbons

Abstract

A process that includes: mixing a hydrocarbon composition that includes at least one organic sulfur-containing compound with an extraction solvent in a film-shear reactor under conditions wherein the extraction solvent extracts the at least one organic sulfur-containing compound from the hydrocarbon composition; separating a first phase comprising the at least one organic sulfur-containing compound and the extraction solvent from a second phase comprising the hydrocarbon composition; oxidizing with ozone the at least one organic sulfur-containing compound in the first phase to produce at least one oxidized organic sulfur-containing compound; and separating the at least one oxidized organic sulfur-containing compound from the extraction solvent.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A process comprising:
 mixing a hydrocarbon composition that includes at least one organic sulfur-containing compound with an extraction solvent in a film-shear reactor under conditions wherein the extraction solvent extracts the at least one organic sulfur-containing compound from the hydrocarbon composition;   separating a first phase comprising the at least one organic sulfur-containing compound and the extraction solvent from a second phase comprising the hydrocarbon composition;   oxidizing with ozone the at least one organic sulfur-containing compound in the first phase to produce at least one oxidized organic sulfur-containing compound; and   separating the at least one oxidized organic sulfur-containing compound from the extraction solvent.   
     
     
         2 . The process of  claim 1 , further comprising recycling the separated lactone back to the mixing step. 
     
     
         3 . The process of  claim 1 , further comprising recycling the separated hydrocarbon composition back to the mixing step. 
     
     
         4 . The process of  claim 1 , wherein separating the first phase from the second phase comprises decanting or centrifuging. 
     
     
         5 . The process of  claim 1 , wherein oxidizing the least one organic sulfur-containing compound in the first phase comprises mixing ozone with the first phase. 
     
     
         6 . The process of  claim 1 , wherein the organic sulfur-containing compound is thiophene, and the thiophene is oxidized to sulfone. 
     
     
         7 . The process of  claim 1 , wherein separating the at least one oxidized organic sulfur-containing compound from the extraction solvent comprises distilling the extraction solvent. 
     
     
         8 . The process of  claim 1 , wherein the extraction solvent comprises a lactone. 
     
     
         9 . The process  claim 8 , wherein the lactone comprises γ-butyrolactone. 
     
     
         10 . The process of  claim 1 , wherein the hydrocarbon composition comprises a hydrocarbon fuel that is contaminated with the least one organic sulfur-containing compound. 
     
     
         11 . The process of  claim 1 , further comprising generating ozone from air. 
     
     
         12 . The process of  claim 1 , wherein the hydrocarbon composition comprises a bunker fuel. 
     
     
         13 . The process of  claim 1 , further comprising including a high molecular weight hydrophilic polymer in the mixing of the hydrocarbon composition and the extraction solvent and/or in the separating of the first phase from the second phase. 
     
     
         14 . A system comprising:
 a film-shear reactor configured for mixing a hydrocarbon composition that includes at least one organic sulfur-containing compound with an extraction solvent under conditions wherein the extraction solvent extracts the at least one organic sulfur-containing compound from the hydrocarbon composition;   a first separation module for receiving the product from the film-shear reactor and configured to separate the product into a first phase comprising the at least one organic sulfur-containing compound and the extraction solvent from a second phase comprising the hydrocarbon composition;   an oxidation reactor for receiving the first phase and configured for oxidizing the at least one organic sulfur-containing compound; and   a second separation module for receiving the mixture of extraction solvent and at least one oxidized organic sulfur-containing compound from the oxidation reactor and configured to separate the extraction solvent from the at least one oxidized organic sulfur-containing compound.   
     
     
         15 . The system of  claim 14 , further comprising an ozone generator for feeding ozone into the oxidation reactor. 
     
     
         16 . The system of  claim 14 , wherein the first separation module comprises a settler. 
     
     
         17 . The system of any one of  claim 14 , wherein the second separation module comprises a distillation element. 
     
     
         18 . The system of any one of  claim 14 , further comprising means for recycling lactone from the second separation module to the film-shear reactor. 
     
     
         19 . The system of any one of  claim 14 , wherein the system is portable.