LAUSR

Abstract Fuel upgrading is one of the globally requirements due to struggle the environmental impacts and to protect the humanity. Presence of oxygenated compounds such as phenol in liquid fuel caused serious problems in the fuel combustion and gums formation in the interior engines and consequently blocking the fuel filter. These problems are directly affected on both of the human's life and environment. Herein, functionalized viscose fibers were designed and applied for liquid fuel purification from phenol. Viscose fibers was firstly cationized by interaction with N-2-chloroethyl N,N diethyl ammonium chloride to produce cationized fibers with nitrogen contents of 0.32–0.52%. Sorption of phenol from n-octane by using the cationized fibers was systematically studied. Sorption capacities were significantly affected by the degree of substitution and were linearly increased with nitrogen contents. The maximum sorption capacities were 178.6 and 206.2–282.5 mg/g for untreated and cationized fibers, respectively. Sorption was obeyed to pseudo-second order and signified that cationization process accelerates the phenol removal process. Sorption of phenol onto fibers were well followed Langmuir isotherm profile which reflected the monolayer sorption. Sorption was taken place via weak interactions between phenol molecules and substituted functional groups of fibers achieving physisorption process. However, the maximum capacity was diminished by regeneration process, the maximum removal of phenol was 80% after 4 regenerated cycles. Cationized viscose fibers can be considered as quite good template to purify liquid fuel from phenols, able to apply several times with good economic viability.