Research advance on reaction mechanism for the hydrodesulfurization of sulfur-containing compounds in gasoline and diesel

The quality specifications of vehicle fuels are more and more strict due to the increase in the consciousness of environmental protection. In order to achieve the goal of lower sulfur contents in gasoline and diesel, it is extremely urgent to develop the ultra deep desulfurization technologies. Currently hydrodesulfurization technology is the key technology of large-scale commercial application, and the core of hydrodesulfurization is the development of highly efficient catalysts. In this article, the typical hydrodesulfurization reaction pathways of different kinds of sulfides were introduced. The mechanisms of thiophene, benzothiophene, dibenzothiophene and 4,6-dimethyldibenzothiophene, which were the representative refractory sulfur-containing molecules, on different catalysts were mainly discussed. It will provide some theoretical directions for the design of the catalysts for the ultra-deep hydrodesulfurization.