Hydrogen Sulfide Bubble Absorption Enhancement in Water-Based Nanofluids

Abstract

Nanoparticles addition is a novel technique for enhancement of mass transfer in absorption process. A bubble column was used for investigation of hydrogen sulfide (H2S) absorption process. Silica and exfoliated graphene oxide (EGO) were used for preparation of nanofluids used as hydrogen sulfide absorbent. The absorption rate of hydrogen sulfide deteriorated by addition of 14 nm silica nanoparticles to water, while EGO–water nanofluid augmented hydrogen sulfide absorption relative to the base fluid. EGO–water nanofluid with 0.02% wt EGO enhanced absorption rate by 40%. For greater mass percentages of EGO in water, the absorption rate was reduced. It is concluded that EGO–water nanofluid is suitable for H2S absorption. Grazing is the main reason for mass transfer enhancement in EGO–water nanofluids. Mathematical modeling was developed for predicting the effective absorption ratio. The maximum deviation of model predictions from the measurements is 13%.