Dynamic analysis of removal and selective oxidation of H 2S to elemental sulfur over Cu–V and Cu–V–Mo mixed oxides in a fixed bed reactor

Abstract

Selective oxidation of H 2S to elemental sulfur was studied using the Cu–V and Cu–V–Mo mixed oxide catalysts with different O 2/H 2S ratios between 0 and 3. High activities and high sulfur selectivities reaching 0.98 were obtained with the Cu–V catalyst. The Cu–V–Mo mixed oxide catalyst showed higher activity with a somewhat less selectivity. The Cu–V catalyst, which was originally in the form of α -Cu 2V 2O 7, was converted to Cu 3VS 4, CuS and VO x during the initial stages of reaction. Oxidized form of the catalyst resulted in the formation of mostly SO 2. Partially reduced catalyst containing V + 2 and V + 4 was highly selective for the production of elemental sulfur, which was produced by a series of redox reactions involving lattice oxygen.