Anjan Ray

Title : Novel Hydrogen–Free Low-Carbon catalytic desulfurization process with value addition of sulfur compounds present in crude oil and refinery streams

Abstract:

Crude oils and refinery streams such as naphtha, gasoline, kerosene, diesel, light cycle oil (LCO), vacuum gas oil (VGO), heavy residue oil (HRO), Foots Oil, visbreaking Tar (Vistar) streams contain Sulfur-Containing Heterocyclic Aromatic compounds (SCHAC). These SCHACs are responsible for the corrosion of metallic assets, poor fuel quality, health issues, and environmental problems and need to be treated for sulfur reduction before its final end-use. To address this, a novel single-step hydrogen-free catalytic desulfurization process has been developed to treat SHACs present in the petroleum crude oils and refinery streams. The desulphurization results for different streams have been shown in Table 1. The synthesized products, easily separable from the de-sulfurized crudes/other refinery streams via a simple filtration process, are structurally characterized with spectroscopic techniques and found to be aromatic in nature with aliphatic side chains

Wherein R stands for aliphatic or alicyclic substituents, and Ar represents higher aromatic rings. The novel sulfur-containing materials exhibit promising results for bitumen blending and may also find applications in rubber compounding. The facile, inexpensive process offers a potentially transformative low-carbon desulfurization solution for bulk processing of petroleum streams at ambient pressures and mild temperatures.

Audience Take Away:

• The approach adopted in this novel process has the potential to change the existing desulfurization configuration of crude oil and refinery streams in a cost-effective manner without the use of expensive hydrogen.
• The products formed from this process are expected to find useful applications in the bitumen and rubber industries
• The process has the potential to offer a cost-effective solution for the processing of heavy sulfur-containing streams such as fuel oil and cutter stock, especially for marine applications.

Biography:

Anjan Ray received his Doctorate in Chemistry from the University of Pennsylvania under the guidance of Nobel Laureate Prof. Alan MacDiarmid. He then moved to the chemical industry and worked for over 25 year across functions ranging from Quality Control, Technical Service,R&D and Marketing to General Management, Mergers & Acquisitions and Corporate Strategy.His professional interests have spanned fields as diverse as surfactants, oleochemicals, paints,adhesives, textiles, cosmetics, pharmaceuticals, water treatment, energy efficiency, biofuels and renewable energy policy. Currently, he holds the position of Director – CSIR-Indian Institute of Petroleum.Apart from his professional career in chemical technology, Dr Ray has had an active interest in media, education, heritage and environmental conservation for over 3 decades.