Desulfurization of pyrolytic oils from waste tire pyrolysis in a fluidized bed reactor with boron nitride adsorbents

Abstract

The study focused on producing hexagonal boron nitride (hBN) as an adsorbent which provides high efficiency in desulfurization processes. The synthesized hBN is used for sulfur removal from liquid fuel derived from end-of-life tires (ELTs). Characterization of hBN was performed using FTIR, XRD, TGA, and SEM-EDS analyses. Liquid fuel was produced in a fluidized bed reactor at 550 °C under a nitrogen gas flow. Post-desulfurization, the fuel's density, water content, and calorific value increased, while sulfur content and flash point decreased, with sulfur content showing a significant reduction of 79.23 %. The desulfurized fuel (PS-A) exhibited better combustion characteristics and closely resembled diesel fuel performance, though it slightly reduced engine effective efficiency by 1.06 % compared to diesel. Both PS-A and pre-desulfurized fuel (PS-B) significantly reduced soot emissions by 23.28 % and 20.81 %, respectively, compared to diesel. Additionally, CO emissions were lower for PS-A and PS-B, with reductions of 4.35 % and 2.00 %, respectively. However, CO₂ emissions increased by 1.60 % for PS-A and 0.86 % for PS-B, attributed to higher fuel consumption. Overall, hBN effectively reduced sulfur content and improved several fuel properties of pyrolytic liquids. The study highlights the environmental and economic benefits of enhancing ELT-derived liquid fuels and suggests potential applications in real systems, serving as a foundation for new technologies and projects.