The desulfurization activity of different selected oxide materials (iron, zinc, chromium, cobalt, and titanium oxides) blended with activated bentonite, in addition to nickel-tungsten/kaolinite catalysts, has been studied. The morphological and structural changes of the different materials were investigated via surface area, X-ray diffraction, and scanning electron microscope analyses. The desulfurization was carried out in an autoclave using dimethyl disulfide/cyclohexane solution as model compound. The results indicate that the sorbent containing zinc-chromium-iron oxides is the most active one towards desulfurization, where DMDS removal reached similar to 58% compared with the other prepared sorbents. This activity may be related to the ferrornagnetic properties of both chromium and iron oxides. (c) 2005 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.