(560ga) Insights into H2S Catalytic Oxidation Performance on Activated Carbon Supported Cu-Based Catalyst at Room Temperature

Hydrogen sulfide (H₂S) is a highly odorous, toxic and corrosive pollutant, which existed widely in industrial operations such as sewage treatment, coke ovens, natural gas processing and petroleum refining. The removal of H₂S is very essential for pollution control and operation safety within industrial processes.

Many technologies including amine scrubbing, Claus process, biological methods and catalytic oxidation process have been reported for H₂S removal. Among them, selective catalytic oxidation of H₂S to sulfur is the preferred one due to its environmental friendliness, low capital cost and high operation flexibility. Moreover, this method could thermodynamically reduce H₂S to less than 0.1 ppm even at room temperature. However, the key for H₂S oxidation is the development of highly efficient catalyst.

In this study, activated carbon (AC) supported Cu was prepared by impregnation method and its catalytic performance for H₂S removal was studied. It was found that Cu/AC could remove H₂S effectively at room temperature, while a low adsorption capacity was detected. As such, a second component (Zn and Ni) was selected and added to the Cu/AC catalyst. Meanwhile, the effects of Zn loading on the activity of catalysts were extensively investigated. The results show that the proper amount of zinc doping could enhance the catalytic performance, and thus remove H₂S significantly. Furthermore, based on the characterization (BET, SEM-EDS, TEM, XRD, XPS and TG) of Cu/Zn/AC catalysts, the mechanism of H₂S oxidation was elucidated.