Solid acid catalysts produced by sulfonation of petroleum coke: Dominant role of aromatic hydrogen

Xiao, Ye; Hill, Josephine M.

Solid acid catalysts produced by sulfonation of petroleum coke: Dominant role of aromatic hydrogen

dc.contributor.author	Xiao, Ye
dc.contributor.author	Hill, Josephine M.
dc.date.accessioned	2020-01-30T18:22:48Z
dc.date.available	2020-01-30T18:22:48Z
dc.date.issued	2020-06-01
dc.description.abstract	Carbon based solid waste materials have been intensively investigated for the preparation of solid acid catalysts through sulfonation, but the acidity varies significantly depending on the material. In this study, the role of aromatic hydrogen in sulfonation with concentrated H2SO4 was investigated using petroleum coke (petcoke), graphite, and biochar as the carbon materials. Through ball milling and calcination, the amount of aromatic hydrogen on the petcoke could be increased or decreased, respectively. After sulfonation at 80 °C with concentrated H2SO4, the produced acidity (i.e., –SO3H groups) increased as the amount of aromatic hydrogen increased from essentially no acidity on graphite to 0.55 mmol/g on biochar and 1.25 mmol/g on petcoke (particle sizes of 45–90 μm) indicating the importance of aromatic hydrogen during sulfonation. Calcination (350 °C for 1 h) of the petcoke before sulfonation decreased the acidity to 0.59 mmol/g, while ball milling (with isopropanol and silica for 24 h) increased the acidity to 3.73 mmol/g. The sulfonated petcoke samples were used as catalysts for the esterification reaction between octanoic acid and methanol at 60 °C and the turnover frequencies were 48–85 h−1. The results give insights on the preparation of solid acid catalysts from carbon materials and highlight the application of petcoke without activation as a feedstock for esterification catalysts.	en_US
dc.identifier.doi	http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.chemosphere.2020.125981	en_US
dc.identifier.uri	http://hdl.handle.net/1880/111586
dc.language.iso	eng	en_US
dc.publisher.department	Chemical & Petroleum Engineering	en_US
dc.publisher.faculty	Schulich School of Engineering	en_US
dc.publisher.hasversion	acceptedVersion	en_US
dc.publisher.institution	University of Calgary	en_US
dc.rights	Unless otherwise indicated, this material is protected by copyright and has been made available with authorization from the copyright owner. You may use this material in any way that is permitted by the Copyright Act or through licensing that has been assigned to the document. For uses that are not allowable under copyright legislation or licensing, you are required to seek permission.	en_US
dc.rights.uri	https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0	en_US
dc.subject	Petroleum coke	en_US
dc.subject	Sulfonation	en_US
dc.subject	Solid acid	en_US
dc.subject	Aromatic hydrogen	en_US
dc.subject	Esterification	en_US
dc.title	Solid acid catalysts produced by sulfonation of petroleum coke: Dominant role of aromatic hydrogen	en_US
dc.type	journal article	en_US
ucalgary.item.requestcopy	true	en_US