Removal of Hydrogen Sulfide from Natural gas,a Motor Vehicle Fuel

Abstract

Compressed natural gas (CNG) is one of the fossil fuels, and is nothing other than the compressed version of the natural gas extracted by mining. CNG is mostly used for heating and the production of electricity. If used as a fuel for motor vehicles, it entails less emission of CO2 than does the use of gasoline or diesel. Irrespective of usage, the contents of commercial natural gas are strictly regulated by laws. Besides energy density, hydrogen sulfide content for example is a critical quality parameter of natural gas, hence it is strictly regulated. Hydrogen sulfide is extremely corrosive for the pipes. When burning such gases, hydrogen sulfide is converted to sulfur dioxide (SO2) which is harmful for the environment. We have devised a procedure for the replacement of solid adsorbents and amine-containing chemicals in hydrogen sulfide removal that can also be used with gases containing carbon dioxide. The essence of the method is that the natural gas is brought into contact with a dilute solution of NaOH in contact time of less than 1 second. At the beginning of chemisorption, hydrogen sulfide is absorbed 1-2 orders of magnitude faster than carbon dioxide. For the experiments, a laboratory Jet reactor was planned. The efficiency of purification was examined with different hydrogen sulfide containing model gas mixtures with respect to the following parameters: gas volume flow, alkali volume flow and alkali concentration.