[Smokin' Joe]

I bow to your superior knowledge of refining.

I had no idea that the standard was that (insanely?) low. How much of that sulfur would come out in the distillate versus remain in the other fractions?

[thackney]

How much of that sulfur would come out in the distillate versus remain in the other fractions?

I think (but don't know) that the distillate is going to keep the sulfur in similar ratios. A significant part of that sulfur is bound in the molecular string; it isn't pure hydrogen-carbon bonds only.

It is often removed with hydrotreating, which is a milder version of hydrocracking. This process creates H2S in order to make it removable from the product stream. It requires a source of Hydrogen. In a refinery, that is often from steam reformation of Natural Gas.

Takes more than a still these days to stay legal with the EPA.

[thackney]

I had no idea that the standard was that (insanely?) low.

Sorry, I should have supplied some info on that.

A 15 parts per million (ppm) sulfur specification, known as Ultra Low Sulfur Diesel (ULSD), was phased in for highway diesel fuel from 2006-2010.

EPA Home > Transportation & Air Quality > Fuels and Fuel Additives > Diesel Fuel
http://www.epa.gov/otaq/fuels/dieselfuels/index.htm