Purification of hydrocarbons from aromatic sulfur compounds by supercritical carbon dioxide extraction

Supercritical carbon dioxide extraction to purify samples of model hydrocarbons (tetralin, decalin, and tetradecane) containing various aromatic sulfur compounds (benzothiophene, dibenzothiophene, and 4,6-dimethydibenzothiophene) was studied. The influence of extraction temperature and pressure was investigated for the extraction from a tetralin–dibenzothiophene system in the range of 293–353 K and 8–15 MPa, and it was found that the amount of tetralin extracted increased with an increase in carbon dioxide density, while the separation factor decreased with an increase in carbon dioxide density. High recovery and high separation factor values for the tetralin–dibenzothiophene system were obtained under 10 MPa at 313 K. Higher separation factor was obtained for tetralin than decalin and tetradecane, containing 4,6-dimethyldibenzothiophene than that containing dibenzothiophene.