Contents lists available at ScienceDirect Molecular Catalysis journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/mcat V or Mn zeolite catalysts for the oxidative desulfurization of diesel fractions using dibenzothiophene as a probe molecule: Preliminary study Mariele I.S. de Mello a, ⁎ , Eledir V. Sobrinho a , Victor L.S.T. da Silva b , Sibele B.C. Pergher a, ⁎ a Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Norte, Laboratório de Peneiras Moleculares, LABPEMOL, Instituto de Química, Natal, RN 59078-970, Brazil b Programa de Engenharia Química, NUCAT, Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, P.O. Box 68502, Rio de Janeiro, RJ 21941-914, Brazil ARTICLE INFO Keywords: Zeolite Vanadium Manganese Oxidative desulfurization ABSTRACT With growing concern about the environment, the oil industry has become interested in new technologies that reduce costs by increasing the efficiency of removing sulfur compounds from fossil fuels. Oxidative desulfur- ization is an interesting sulfur-removal process for the petroleum industry because it uses mild reaction con- ditions. In this work, zeolites (ZSM-5, NaX, NaY, Beta and Mordenite) impregnated with 1% vanadium or manganese were used for the oxidation and extraction of dibenzothiophene (DBT) from a diesel load. The catalysts were characterized by X-ray diffraction, N 2 adsorption-desorption textural analysis and scanning electron microscopy, and the reaction products were analyzed by gas chromatography (GC-FID). It was found that vanadium or manganese impregnation did not significantly modify the structure of the zeolites. The va- nadium-impregnated zeolite ZSM-5 showed the best result in the oxidation of dibenzothiophene, oxidizing up to 80% of the DBT added in the diesel charge (ZSM-5 5020 V). The manganese-based catalysts were not as active for this oxidation, and the best performance was found for the removal of DBT by extraction. 1. Introduction Petroleum (oil) has fundamental importance in our society, and its main use is as a source of energy. Petroleum has a complex composition and is composed of hydrocarbons and other organic compounds that contain heteroatoms of oxygen, nitrogen or sulfur in their structure. During combustion, these heteroatoms give rise to hazardous atmo- spheric pollutants, such as sulfur oxides (SOx), and incomplete com- bustion generates carbon monoxide (CO). These compounds are notable because they are difficult to degrade [1–3]. Sulfur dioxide is a major air pollutant. When combined with at- mospheric moisture, sulfur dioxide causes acid rainfall, and in oil fractions, sulfur dioxide is highly undesirable because it causes equip- ment corrosion [4,5]. Therefore, the environmental problems arising from the release of SOx into the atmosphere have been the subject of research worldwide. Traditionally, sulfur removal from various refinery loads is accom- plished through the hydrodesulfurization process using catalysts based on molybdenum or tungsten sulfides promoted by cobalt or nickel sulfides and using alumina as a support [6–9]. The decreased quality of the loads and increased rigidity of environmental control laws require increasingly drastic operating conditions, such as using high tempera- tures and pressures, which inevitably lead to higher hydrogen consumption and higher investments [10–13]. To meet the limits im- posed by environmental control laws, several strategies have been used, such as the use of new catalysts or the development of new processes [14–19]. Among the new technologies studied, oxidative desulfurization (ODS) should be highlighted, as this method can be conducted under much milder conditions than traditional hydrodesulfurization and is characterized by low temperature (even room temperature) and at- mospheric pressure, with the great advantage of not requiring hydrogen in the process [20–23]. Despite the mild operating conditions, oxidative desulfurization presents high efficiency and selectivity, and when combined with the extraction process, ODS becomes one of the most promising methods of desulfurization and is applicable to several of the petroleum charges present in a refinery [12,16]. In the last two decades, the use of molecular sieves, such as zeolites, as supports or catalysts in various processes, such as petroleum refining and environmental control, has intensified [24–33]. However, there are still few studies reported in the literature that use zeolites as catalysts or supports in the process of oxidative desulfurization [34,35]. Therefore, it is necessary to study the ODS process of real loads by evaluating different zeolites as supports for active phases in the process of oxida- tive desulfurization. Few studies have reported using manganese as the active phase in the ODS process [36]; however, there has been an https://doi.org/10.1016/j.mcat.2018.02.009 Received 18 December 2017; Received in revised form 8 February 2018; Accepted 13 February 2018 ⁎ Corresponding authors. E-mail addresses: mellomariele@gmail.com (M.I.S. de Mello), sibele.pergher@pq.cnpq.br (S.B.C. Pergher). Molecular Catalysis xxx (xxxx) xxx–xxx 2468-8231/ © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved. Please cite this article as: Mello, M.I.S.d., Molecular Catalysis (2018), https://doi.org/10.1016/j.mcat.2018.02.009