Adsorptive Removal of Thiophenic Sulfur Compounds Over Ag-Loaded Spherical Activated Carbon

Silver-loaded spherical activated carbon (Ag-SAC) was synthesized by liquid phase ion exchange using phenolic weak acid cation exchange resin, carbonization and activation with CO2. The adsorptive capacity and selectivity of Ag-SAC for thiophene (T), 3-methylthiophene (3-MT) and 2,5-dimethylthiophene (2,5-DMT) were investigated by the fixed bed adsorption experiments under ambient conditions. The results showed that the saturation capacities of Ag-SAC for T, 3-MT and 2,5-DMT were 0.733, 0.925 and 1.143 mg-S/g-A, respectively and the adsorptive selectivity of the adsorbent for different sulfur compounds followed the order: 2,5-DMT > 3-MT > T. The effects of toluene and cyclohexene on the adsorptive performance were also studied. The results indicated that the presence of toluene and cyclohexene led to a reduction of total saturation capacity by 57 and 33 %, respectively.