Metal oxide nanofibres scrub sulphur from petrol fuels

It is claimed that such efficiency could lower costs and improve performance for fuel-based catalysis, advanced energy applications and toxic gas removal.



Co-led by the late Mark Shannon, a professor of mechanical science and engineering at the University of Illinois, and chemistry professor Prashant Jain, the researchers demonstrated their material in the journal Nature Nanotechnology.



Sulphur compounds in fuels release toxic gases during combustion, and they damage metals and catalysts in engines and fuel cells.

According to the university, they usually are removed using a liquid treatment that adsorbs the sulphur from the fuel, but the process is said to be cumbersome and requires that the fuel be cooled and reheated, making the fuel less energy efficient.



To solve these problems, researchers have turned to solid metal oxide adsorbents, but those are said to present their own sets of challenges: while they work at high temperatures, eliminating the need to cool and re-heat the fuel, their performance is limited by stability issues, losing their activity after only a few cycles of use.