Abstract
Cordierite honeycomb structured catalysts were studied for the reaction of H2S decomposition in the presence of oxygen to obtain H2 and sulphur. An Al2O3-based washcoat was deposited on the honeycomb monolith by a dip-coating procedure. In particular, three different washcoat percentages (15, 20 and 30 wt%) were deposited on the structured carrier and the obtained samples were characterized by N2 adsorption and SEM analysis. The evaluation of the catalytic performance of the three samples was carried out at two different temperatures (1000 °C and 1100 °C). The sample with 30 wt% washcoat content showed the lowest SO2 selectivity at 1000 °C (<0.4%), whereas the H2S conversion and H2 yield values were very similar to those achieved for the samples at 15 and 20 wt% washcoat loading. Based on these results, additional tests were carried out on the catalyst with 30 wt% Al2O3-based washcoat loading, varying the contact time and the H2S inlet concentration to identify the operating conditions that minimize the SO2 formation, obtaining good H2S conversion and H2 yield. The comparison of the structured catalyst with the powder alumina sample has shown the same catalytic performance, exhibiting lower SO2 selectivity.
Highlights
The direct recovery of H2 and sulphur from H2 S has attracted strong interest in the scientific community, and several papers on this topic have been published [1]
We have studied the reaction of H2 S thermal oxidative decomposition in homogeneous phase [5,6] and with alumina-based catalyst in powder form [7] by investigating the effect of different operating conditions on the catalytic performance
Structured catalysts starting with a cordierite carrier were prepared with the objective of realizing a structured catalyst for the reaction of H2 S thermal oxidative decomposition at high temperature
Summary
The direct recovery of H2 and sulphur from H2 S has attracted strong interest in the scientific community, and several papers on this topic have been published [1]. A promising alternative to the Claus process is to carry out the H2 S decomposition reaction with a small concentration of oxygen in order to use the heat produced by the H2 S oxidation to support the endothermicity of the H2 S cracking reaction. In this way, the system could be run in autothermal conditions, obtaining sulphur, H2 O and H2 [3]
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