Two different oxidative desulfurization strategies based on oxidation/adsorption or
oxidation/extraction were evaluated for the desulfurization of AL-Ahdab (AHD) sour crude oil
(3.9wt% sulfur content). In the oxidation process, a homogenous oxidizing agent comprising of
hydrogen peroxide and formic acid was used. Activated carbons were used as sorbent/catalyst in
the oxidation/adsorption process while acetonitrile was used as an extraction solvent in the
oxidation/extraction process. For the oxidation/adsorption scheme, the experimental results
indicated that the oxidation desulfurization efficiency was enhanced on using activated carbon as
catalyst/sorbent. The effects of the operating conditions (contact time, temperature, mixing speed
and sorbent dose) on the desulfurization efficiency were examined. The desulfurization
efficiency measured at the best operating conditions(optimum conditions): 60 , 500rpm, 60min
contact time and sorbent dose of 0.7g AC/100 ml AHD crude, was 32.8% corresponding to a
sulfur content of 2.6 wt%. Applying the same optimum operating conditions and at 3:1
solvent/oil ratio, the oxidation/extraction method gave comparable desulfurization efficiency of
31.5%.