Fuel Science & Technology International, Vol.14, No.7, 939-961, 1996
Sulfur compound type distribution in Naphtha and gas oil fractions of Kuwaiti crude
The need for detailed information on the types of sulfur compounds present in various petroleum cuts has been well recognized by refiners and environmentalists worldwide. This need is growing in recent years in view of the current environmental regulations chat limit the sulfur content of transportation fuels to very low levels. In the present work we have studied the distribution of different kinds of sulfur compounds present in light and middle distillates of Kuwait crude oil. A representative sample of Kuwait crude oil was fractionated into naphtha (15-160 degrees C) and 10-15 degrees C cuts in the gas oil boiling range (210-340 degrees C) using an 80L, capacity autodistillation unit ''AUTODEST-800'' according to ASTM 2892. The distribution of various types of sulfur compounds in each of these cuts was quantitatively estimated by capillary gas chromatography equipped with a sulfur chemiluminescence detector. Thiophene and its alkyl derivatives constituted about 60% of the total sulfur compounds in the naphtha fraction. The remaining 40% was composed of mercaptanes and alkyl sulfides. In the gas oil boiling range (210-340) two groups of sulfur compounds, namely, alkyl benzothiophenes and alkyl dibenzothiophenes were present. A major portion of the alkyl benzothiophenes was found in the fraction boiling in the narrow range 235-257 degrees C. Among the alkyl dibenzothiophenes, the concentration of C-1 and C-2 DBTs decreased while that of higher alkyl DBTs (> C-3-DBTs) increased with increasing temperature. The C-1 and C-2 alkyl DBTs were highly concentrated in a fraction boiling between 280-325 degrees C and these sulfur compounds were absent in the fraction bailing above 330 degrees C. The industrial implications of these results are discussed.
Keywords:CHROMATOGRAPHY