Science and Technology Progress on the Desulfurization Process of Crude Oil

Currently, crude oil still remains an irreplaceable energy source for chemical industrial processes, transportation systems, electricity, and other human activities. However, crude oil contains sulfur elements as the major impurities in the form of aliphatic and aromatic organosulfur compounds. During the combustion of fuel, these organosulfur compounds are converted to harmful SOx gases; thus, many countries strictly limit the maximum sulfur content in the fuels. To fulfill the government regulation, refineries are trying to decrease the maximum sulfur content in crude oil through several desulfurization technologies, such as hydrodesulfurization, adsorption, oxidative‐desulfurization, alkylation, and biodesulfurization. Each desulfurization technology has its own advantages and disadvantages. In this review article, we aimed to briefly summarize the progress in the developing science and technology of each desulfurization process of crude oil. Several fields in the desulfurization process are still facing challenges to create better designs and development for a safer future of the world. The science and technology progress of several desulfurization methods of crude oil are briefly described, i.e., hydrodesulfurization, adsorption, oxidative‐desulfurization, alkylation, and biodesulfurization. Opportunities for new innovations are still open and many challenges remain for researchers around the world to design, develop, and optimize the recent desulfurization technologies.