Ultrasound assisted oxidative denitrification of diesel by formic acid/hydrogen peroxide

The basic nitrogen compounds in diesel were removed by using formic acid/hydrogen peroxide as oxidant under ultrasound, and alcohol was used as extractant. The effect of all factors on removing basic nitrogen compounds was investigated systematically. On the basis of single-factor experiments, the orthogonal experiments were done to optimize denitrification process. The optimum denitrification process was that volume ratio of formic acid to hydrogen peroxide was 3.0:1, volume ratio of oxidation system to diesel was 0.16:1, ultrasonic power was 64W, reaction temperature was 313K, ultrasonic radiation time was 2min, and volume of alcohol was 16mL. The content of basic nitrogen compounds in diesel was reduced from 85.79 to 3.56g/g, and the denitrification rate reached 95.85% under the optimum denitrification process. The treated diesel met the quality requirements.