Upgrading of scrap tire derived pyrolytic oils through catalytic oxidative desulphurization over iron tailored Tetrapak® based catalyst

The upgrading of sulfur-rich pyrolytic oils derived from waste tires remains a major challenge for their utilization as alternative transportation fuels due to the presence of refractory thiophenic compounds. In this work, we reported the carbothermal production of a iron tailored catalyst produced by pyrolyzing waste aluminum containing contaminated food packaging (waste Tetrapak ® ). The catalytic activity of iron tailored catalyst was evaluated in the oxidative desulfurization of tire-derived pyrolytic oil containing 7139 ppm sulfur using a biphasic H₂O₂ system. The effects of reaction temperature, reaction time and catalyst loading were systematically investigated reaching a sulfur removal up to 57% at 100 °C after 6 h using a catalyst loading of up 5 wt%. The catalyst maintained stable activity after three consecutive cycles, while XPS and FESEM analyses after reaction evidenced partial oxidation and enlargement of iron nanoparticles.