Enhanced desulfurization Pervaporate via tailored Polypyrrolidone membranes with functionalized graphene oxide nanoparticles and silver ions
Khalili P. Abdolmaleki A. Riazi M. Davarpanah A.
30 August 2025Elsevier B.V.
Separation and Purification Technology
2025#364
Fuels sulfur compounds cause environmental pollution concerns by the emission of toxic gases such as SOx.Compared to old desulfurization methods, which are generally energy-intensive, inefficient, and costly, pervaporation is an effective alternative for the selective removal of these compounds. This article investigates a poly(vinylpyrrolidone) composite (PVP + PEG) membranes modification by graphene oxide adsorbent (GO) and the effects of optimizing this adsorbent by functionalizing through 4-aminopyridine (GAP) and loading silver particles (Ag-GO and Ag-GAP) as a novel approach for boosting benzothiophene removal from a model fuel of n-heptane in the pervaporation method. The products were successfully fabricated via chemical synthesis and subsequently identified and characterized using an array of techniques. Results indicated that the functional groups on the surface of graphene oxides sheets (GAP) increased benzothiophene removal through generally π-π stacking interactions and some hydrogen bonding. Additionally, the silver ions’ loading enhanced benzothiophene removal efficiency in all composite membranes. Therefore, the Ag-GAP membrane demonstrated the highest efficiency with an enrichment factor of 8.97 and a flux of 36.30 (kg.m−2. h−1). Theoretical DFT/B3LYP/6–311++G(d,p) calculations, in addition to confirming all experimental findings, revealed that optimization of graphene oxide with 4-aminopyridine enhances membrane benzothiophene removal performance by curving its sheets and creating proper deep penetration channels with suitable electrostatic potentials. These theoretical calculations suggest that the aforementioned boosting effect of silver ions could be due to the enhancement of the membranes electrophilic sites and the restriction of their nucleophilic sites’ by these particles.
Desulfurization , DFT , Graphene Oxide , Pervaporation , Polypyrrolidone Membrane
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Department of Chemistry, College of Sciences, University of Shiraz, Shiraz, Iraq
Enhanced Oil Recovery (EOR) Research Centre, IOR-EOR Research Institute, Shiraz University, Shiraz, Iraq
School of Mining and Geosciences, Nazarbayev University, Astana, 010000, Kazakhstan
Department of Chemistry
Enhanced Oil Recovery (EOR) Research Centre
School of Mining and Geosciences
10 лет помогаем публиковать статьи Международный издатель
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