Ijaz Ahmed Bhatti

Microwave-assisted desulfurization of coal by photo-catalytic oxidation treatment

ABSTRACT The mechanism of coal desulfurization by photo-catalytic oxidation treatment is expatiated. This work describes the desulfurization of coal by photocatalysis oxidation treatment; slurries of coal in aqueous media were mixed with H2O2, nano-catalyst (ZnO) and irradiated with a UV radiation source. Sulfur removal was estimated by the barium precipitation method. The interactive effects of operational parameters such as coal particle size, catalyst concentration, time of irradiation, and concentration of hydrogen peroxide were also investigated. The interactive and simple linear effect of each operational parameter was analyzed by using the response surface methodology (RSM) with central composite rotatable design (CCRD). The results demonstrated that particle size had a weak correlation with the magnitude of desulfurization while positive impact has been generated by hydrogen peroxide.