Can Activated Carbon Effectively Remove Mercaptans?

Activated carbon is widely used in the removal of mercaptans due to its high specific surface area and developed mesoporous structure. In the gasoline refining process, desulfurization activated carbon removes excessive mercaptans in crude oil by loading sulfonated titanium cyanocobalt, thereby reducing the sulfur content of gasoline, improving the quality, and meeting the national environmental protection emission requirements. The characteristics of this activated carbon include high methylene blue adsorption value, good strength and low ash impurity content, and low moisture content to ensure its efficient function1.

In addition, there is an activated carbon fine desulfurizer for removing mercaptans and sulfides, which is composed of oxides or salts of Na, Cu, and Si and activated carbon. The desulfurizer is made by adding water-soluble compounds of the above elements before the activated carbon is formed, or loading them on the activated carbon through separate leaching or co-leaching, and then drying and activating at room temperature to 300°C. This desulfurizer can remove sulfides such as H2S, COS, CS2, mercaptan, sulfide, thiophene, etc. at the same time, and is especially suitable for fine desulfurization of mercaptan and sulfide. Its removal accuracy is less than 0.05ppm, and it has a high sulfur capacity, an operating temperature of 0-100℃, and an air velocity of 100-3000h-1. This desulfurizer can be widely used in the production processes of synthetic ammonia, methanol, hydroxyl alcohol, low-carbon alcohol, synthetic fuel, city gas, methanation, food-grade CO2, synthetic polypropylene, etc., and can also be used for fine desulfurization of chemical raw material gases such as semi-water gas, water gas, coke oven gas, natural gas, and liquefied gas23.

In summary, activated carbon plays an important role in the removal of mercaptans through its unique physical and chemical properties. It not only improves the quality of gasoline in gasoline refining, but is also widely used in various industrial production processes to ensure product quality and safety.