Removing carbonyl sulfide with metal-modified activated carbon

Abstract

A Cu-Co-K/activated carbon (AC) adsorbent has been developed for the removal of carbonyl sulfide (COS). The effects of COS concentration, reaction temperature and relative humidity were closely examined. A breakthrough of 33.23 mg COS·g−1 adsorbent at 60°C, under 30% relative humidity and in presence of 1.0% oxygen was exhibited in the Cu-Co-K/AC adsorbent prepared. Competitive adsorption studies for COS in the presence of CS2, and H2S were also conducted. TPD analysis was used to identify sulfur-containing products on the carbon surface, and the results indicated that H2S, COS and SO2 were all evident in the effluent gas generated from the exhausted Cu-Co-K/AC. Structure of the activated carbon samples has been characterized using nitrogen adsorption, and their surface chemical structures were also determined with X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). It turns out that the modification with Cu(OH)2CO3-CoPcS-KOH can significantly improve the COS removal capacity, forming SO42− species simultaneously. Regeneration of the spent activated carbon sorbents by thermal desorption has also been explored.