Development of a filter to selectively remove copper from jet fuels using a polyamine chelant immobilized on silica gel

Dissolved copper in fuels is generally rendered chemically benign by complexing with soluble chelating agents. However, this still leaves the copper in the fuel. By attaching suitable chelants to a solid support, copper can be selectively removed from the fuel by passing through a column packed with this material. We are evaluating a candidate system in which diethylenetriamine (DETA) is densely immobilized onto silica gel (DETA-Si). Previous studies have shown that this system will remove copper to below detection levels from jet fuel passed through columns at up to 30 mL/min. In this study, we show that the efficiency of DETA-Si to extract copper is not diminished in the presence of metal deactivating additives. Moreover, MDA does not extract copper from DETA-Si in lab-scale now tests. The impact of filtration through silica gel and DETA-Si on thermal stability is also addressed.