The removal of sulfur- and nitrogen-containing compounds present in fuels is and will be crucial to accomplish actual strict regulations to avoid environmental and humanity health adversities. The conventional hydrodesulfurization and hydrodenitrogenation processes conducted by refineries are limited due to severe operating conditions, and even more importantly, they are inefficient for simultaneously removing nitrogen- and sulfur-containing compounds in fuels. On the other hand, non-hydrogen technologies are beneficial in terms of mild operating conditions, and during the last two decades, some successful works have shown that these can be highly effective at efficiently removing both sulfur- and nitrogen-containing compounds from liquid fuels. For more than four decades, extensive research (thousands of publications since the 1980s) has been dedicated to developing remote desulfurization technologies without taking into consideration the presence of a complex fuel matrix, or even taking into account the presence of other harmful pollutant elements, such as nitrogen. Even more recently, several effective non-hydrogen denitrogenation processes have been reported without considering the presence of sulfur compounds. This review paper is a reflection on the limited work that has been successfully performed to simultaneously remove sulfur- and nitrogen-containing compounds from fuels. An evaluation of different methodologies (adsorption, extraction, oxidative (photo)catalysis, ultrasound-assisted oxidation) is presented here. Furthermore, this review intends to define new future strategies that will allow the design of more suitable and economical technologies, effectively conciliating desulfurization and denitrogenation processes to produce more sustainable fuels.

A series of porous metal–organic frameworks (MOFs) of the UiO-66 family, namely UiO-66(Zr), UiO-66(Hf) and UiO-66(Hf)-NH₂, prepared by solvothermal procedures were characterized, and their catalytic efficiency for oxidative denitrification (ODN) was investigated for the first time. Sustainable denitrogenation systems combining adsorption and oxidative catalytic capacity were designed using a model diesel containing two distinct nitrogen compounds (NCs) in a solvent-free medium and using an environment-friendly oxidant (H₂O₂). An efficient adsorptive denitrogenation process was only achieved after long reaction times (24 h): using the Hf-based MOFs, the adsorptive denitrogenation increased from 19% to 79% at 5 to 24 h, while the UiO-66(Zr) reached 76% after 24 h, although the absence of adsorption capacity after 5 h. UiO-66(Hf) and UiO-66(Hf)-NH₂ also revealed superior oxidative catalytic denitrogenation than UiO-66(Zr), attaining 97% of efficiency instead of 80%. ODN processes demonstrated to be more effective than the adsorptive denitrogenation, mainly during the first hours of the process. In addition, the metal center in the MOF structure had a larger influence than the presence of the amine-functional groups. Hf-based compounds revealed higher denitrogenation efficiency than the UiO-66(Zr) for a shorter reaction time (5 h).

The application of a catalytic membrane in the oxidative desulfurization of a multicomponent model diesel formed by most refractory sulfur compounds present in fuel is reported here for the first time. The catalytic membrane was prepared by the impregnation of the active lamellar [Gd(H₄nmp)(H₂O)₂]Cl·2H₂O (UAV-59) coordination polymer (CP) into a polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA, acrylic glass) supporting membrane. The use of the catalytic membrane in the liquid–liquid system instead of a powder catalyst arises as an enormous advantage associated with the facility of catalyst handling while avoiding catalyst mass loss. The optimization of various parameters allowed to achieve a near complete desulfurization after 3 h under sustainable conditions, i.e., using an aqueous H₂O₂ as oxidant and an ionic liquid as extraction solvent ([BMIM]PF₆, 1:0.5 ratio diesel:[BMIM]PF₆). The performance of the catalytic membrane and of the powdered UAV-59 catalyst was comparable, with the advantage that the former could be recycled successfully for a higher number of desulfurization cycles without the need of washing and drying procedures between reaction cycles, turning the catalytic membrane process more cost-efficient and suitable for future industrial application.