Simulated moving bed-inspired method for continuous adsorptive denitrogenation of model fuel

Blake N. Trusty; Peipei Wang; Daniel M. Santosa; Syed Z. Islam

doi:10.1016/j.ces.2026.123462

Simulated moving bed-inspired method for continuous adsorptive denitrogenation of model fuel

Blake N. Trusty
, Peipei Wang
, Daniel M. Santosa
, Syed Z. Islam

Soft Materials and Membranes

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

Abstract

Efficient, continuous routes for removing nitrogen-containing compounds from hydrothermal liquefaction-derived synthetic aviation fuel are needed to enable direct blending with conventional jet fuels. We report a simulated moving bed-inspired process for adsorptive denitrogenation of a model fuel. Unlike conventional simulated moving bed systems, which are designed for sharp separations between similar solutes, this approach was run deliberately outside the classical separation region so that both pyridine and indole were removed together from the hydrocarbon stream. Alcohol solvents were used to regenerate the silica adsorbent, maintaining performance over extended operation and avoiding the downtime and energy demand associated with calcination. Under these conditions, the system demonstrates removal of more than 98% of nitrogen while cutting solvent use by 28% compared to batch operation. Classical modeling tools predicted column concentration profiles even in this nontraditional regime, suggesting a straightforward path to scaling. Together, these results motivate solvent-efficient, continuous denitrogenation strategies that could be integrated with biorefinery processes.

Original language	English
Article number	123462
Journal	Chemical Engineering Science
Volume	325
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ces.2026.123462
State	Published - May 1 2026

Funding

This manuscript has been authored in part by UT-Battelle, LLC, under contract DE-AC05-00OR22725 with the US Department of Energy (DOE). The research reported in this paper was sponsored by the DOE Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, Bioenergy Technologies Office (BETO) under the BETO Bioprocessing Separations Consortium via Contract No. DE-AC36-08GO28308. We thank Marco Avendano for his assistance in initial configuration of the SMB modeling packages. We thank Zachary Coin for this support with initial SMBi system configuration. We thank Lauren Valentino at Argonne National Laboratory for her leadership in the Separations Consortium. We thank Ramesh Bhave for his discussion of results. The views expressed in the article do not necessarily represent the views of the DOE or the US government. The US government retains and the publisher, by accepting the article for publication, acknowledges that the US government retains a nonexclusive, paid-up, irrevocable, worldwide license to publish or reproduce the published form of this work, or allow others to do so, for US government purposes. This manuscript has been authored by UT-Battelle, LLC, under contract DE-AC05-00OR22725 with the US Department of Energy (DOE). The US government retains and the publisher, by accepting the article for publication, acknowledges that the US government retains a nonexclusive, paid-up, irrevocable, worldwide license to publish or reproduce the published form of this manuscript, or allow others to do so, for US government purposes. DOE will provide public access to these results of federally sponsored research in accordance with the DOE Public Access Plan ( http://energy.gov/downloads/doe-public-access-plan ).

Keywords

Adsorption
Hydrothermal liquefaction
Simulated moving bed

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10.1016/j.ces.2026.123462

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title = "Simulated moving bed-inspired method for continuous adsorptive denitrogenation of model fuel",

abstract = "Efficient, continuous routes for removing nitrogen-containing compounds from hydrothermal liquefaction-derived synthetic aviation fuel are needed to enable direct blending with conventional jet fuels. We report a simulated moving bed-inspired process for adsorptive denitrogenation of a model fuel. Unlike conventional simulated moving bed systems, which are designed for sharp separations between similar solutes, this approach was run deliberately outside the classical separation region so that both pyridine and indole were removed together from the hydrocarbon stream. Alcohol solvents were used to regenerate the silica adsorbent, maintaining performance over extended operation and avoiding the downtime and energy demand associated with calcination. Under these conditions, the system demonstrates removal of more than 98\% of nitrogen while cutting solvent use by 28\% compared to batch operation. Classical modeling tools predicted column concentration profiles even in this nontraditional regime, suggesting a straightforward path to scaling. Together, these results motivate solvent-efficient, continuous denitrogenation strategies that could be integrated with biorefinery processes.",

keywords = "Adsorption, Hydrothermal liquefaction, Simulated moving bed",

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AU - Trusty, Blake N.

AU - Wang, Peipei

AU - Santosa, Daniel M.

AU - Islam, Syed Z.

PY - 2026/5/1

Y1 - 2026/5/1

N2 - Efficient, continuous routes for removing nitrogen-containing compounds from hydrothermal liquefaction-derived synthetic aviation fuel are needed to enable direct blending with conventional jet fuels. We report a simulated moving bed-inspired process for adsorptive denitrogenation of a model fuel. Unlike conventional simulated moving bed systems, which are designed for sharp separations between similar solutes, this approach was run deliberately outside the classical separation region so that both pyridine and indole were removed together from the hydrocarbon stream. Alcohol solvents were used to regenerate the silica adsorbent, maintaining performance over extended operation and avoiding the downtime and energy demand associated with calcination. Under these conditions, the system demonstrates removal of more than 98% of nitrogen while cutting solvent use by 28% compared to batch operation. Classical modeling tools predicted column concentration profiles even in this nontraditional regime, suggesting a straightforward path to scaling. Together, these results motivate solvent-efficient, continuous denitrogenation strategies that could be integrated with biorefinery processes.

AB - Efficient, continuous routes for removing nitrogen-containing compounds from hydrothermal liquefaction-derived synthetic aviation fuel are needed to enable direct blending with conventional jet fuels. We report a simulated moving bed-inspired process for adsorptive denitrogenation of a model fuel. Unlike conventional simulated moving bed systems, which are designed for sharp separations between similar solutes, this approach was run deliberately outside the classical separation region so that both pyridine and indole were removed together from the hydrocarbon stream. Alcohol solvents were used to regenerate the silica adsorbent, maintaining performance over extended operation and avoiding the downtime and energy demand associated with calcination. Under these conditions, the system demonstrates removal of more than 98% of nitrogen while cutting solvent use by 28% compared to batch operation. Classical modeling tools predicted column concentration profiles even in this nontraditional regime, suggesting a straightforward path to scaling. Together, these results motivate solvent-efficient, continuous denitrogenation strategies that could be integrated with biorefinery processes.

KW - Adsorption

KW - Hydrothermal liquefaction

KW - Simulated moving bed

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Simulated moving bed-inspired method for continuous adsorptive denitrogenation of model fuel

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