Which process is designed to remove sulfur from gasoline and diesel products?

• A. Hydrotreater
• B. Catalytic Cracker
• C. Hydrodesulfurization
• D. Desalter

Answer: (A)

Sulfur removal from gasoline and diesel is accomplished by hydrodesulfurization, a catalytic hydrotreating process where sulfur-containing compounds react with hydrogen over a sulfide catalyst to form hydrogen sulfide and desulfurized hydrocarbons. This happens at elevated temperature and pressure with catalysts such as cobalt-molybdenum or nickel-molybdenum on an alumina support, yielding fuels that meet sulfur-spec requirements. A hydrotreater is the unit that performs hydrotreating, which includes sulfur removal, but the specific process name for removing sulfur from fuels is hydrodesulfurization. The other options don’t fit: a catalytic cracker focuses on breaking large molecules into smaller ones, and a desalter removes inorganic salts from crude oil.