Electrochemical oxidation of sulfur compounds in naphtha using ionic liquids

摘要

The instant invention is directed to an electrochemical process for removing sulfur from a stream comprising hydrocarbon and polymerizable sulfur compounds comprising:(a) combining a hydrocarbon feed containing polymerizable sulfur compounds with a ionic liquid;(b) electrochemically oxidizing said combination of step (a) in an electrochemical reactor, under conditions capable of producing sulfur oligomers from said polymerizable sulfur compounds to obtain a first fraction comprising sulfur oligomers, ionic liquid, and entrained hydrocarbon, and a second fraction comprising desulfurized hydrocarbon feed;(c) recovering said first fraction and said second fraction.