Desulfurization of petroleum by Co-60 gamma irradiation and analysis of products using GC-MS

Sulfur is an undesirable hetero-atom that has negative on motor engines if present in quantities between 50 and 180.000 ppm. Research has shown that sour petroleum can be 'sweetened' by gamma irradiation to de-sulfurize the crude oil. In this research we will report experimental results of desulfurizing petroleum locally procured. The objective is to improve the quality of product delivered to the motor market and also reduce the environmental pollution due to SO₂ emissions from engines. The gamma irradiated (de-sulfurized petroleum was chemically analyzed using GC-MS. The preliminary results show that the petroleum is polymerized by gamma radiation to higher molecular mass. The un-irradiated petroleum had a sulfur concentration of 3.24% and 0.020% wt after gamma irradiation. The sulfur content was reduced by a factor of about 160 when dose was increased from zero to 50 kGys. GC-MS Chromatographs are presented for the identified hydrocarbons after gamma irradiation. (authors)