Synthesis of Activated Coke via Co-carbonization of Mixed Atmospheric Residue and Polypropylene Waste and KOH-Activation for the Desulfurization of Model Fuel

Yaqoob, Muntaha Hayder; Fadhil, Abdelrahman B.

doi:10.33899/rjs.2025.163078.1493

	Synthesis of Activated Coke via Co-carbonization of Mixed Atmospheric Residue and Polypropylene Waste and KOH-Activation for the Desulfurization of Model Fuel
Rafidain Journal of Science
Articles in Press, Accepted Manuscript, Available Online from 19 October 2025
Document Type: Research Paper
DOI: 10.33899/rjs.2025.163078.1493
Authors
muntaha hayder Yaqoob^* ¹; Abdelrahman B. Fadhil²
¹Department of Chemistry/College of Science/University of Mosul
²Department of Chemistry/College of Science/University of Mosul, Mosul
Abstract
The co-carbonization of the atmospheric residue (ATR) from the Al-Kasik refinery with polypropylene waste taken from the cement factory to produce coke was accomplished at 400°C for 1 h. The latter was chemically activated with KOH to create a novel activated coke (AC). The XRD, adsorption-desorption of N₂ gas at 77 K, FESEM, and EDX of the resulting AC were accomplished to evaluate its crystallinity, surface area, and pore volume, morphological features, and elemental analysis. The best AC had a surface area of 220.96 m²/g and a mean pore width of 2.95 nm, showing its mesoporosity. The adsorptive performance of model gasoline (dibenzothiophene, DBT-hexane) by this AC amounted to 97.62% by implementing 0.3 g of the AC at 30°C for 80 minutes. The adsorption of DBT followed the Freundlich adsorption isotherm and the pseudo-2nd-order model of kinetics. It was recoverable and reusable, with a removal efficacy of 88.13% in the 5th run. Accordingly, the as-synthesized AC can be used for S-elimination from transportation fuel efficiently.
Keywords
Co-carbonization; Atmospheric residue; Polypropylene waste; DBT Elimination; Reusability

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