Sustainable crude oil desulfurization: A multi-objective fuzzy optimization for pollution prevention

The ultrasonic-assisted oxidative desulfurization (UAOD) process is employed to mitigate the environmental impact of sulfur emissions. Previous studies have focused on evaluating the efficiency of crude oil UAOD. This research assesses the desulfurization efficiency encompassing irradiation time, ultrasonic power, and oxidant amount, as well as the corresponding operational expenses, to ascertain the optimal conditions. The research employed a multi-objective fuzzy optimization (MOFO) method to assess the operational expenses of crude oil UAOD. It established the upper and lower limits and subsequently optimized the operational costs and desulfurization efficiency while accounting for uncertainties. The fuzzy model optimized the level of satisfaction on a scale from 0 (unsatisfied) to 1 (satisfied) using the max-min aggregation. The degree of satisfaction slightly decreased to 55.49 %, achieved under optimal conditions of 739.70 W ultrasonic power, 6.70 min irradiation, and 8.47 mL oxidant. This configuration yielded a desulfurization efficiency (YA) of 63.24 % at 2.02 USD/L. Compared to existing literature, the desulfurization of crude oil was found to be less efficient and less expensive. The outcomes presented by MOFO showcase economic feasibility with reduced overall operating expenses and simplified process conditions and provide valuable insights for optimizing potential large-scale UAOD processes.