Oxidation of H2S to elemental sulfur over alumina-based nanocatalysts: Synthesis and physiochemical evaluations

Abstract

In this paper, oxidation of H2S into elemental sulfur over synthesized aluminabased nanocatalysts was physiochemically investigated and the results were compared with a commercial Claus catalyst. The wet chemical, co-precipitation, and spray pyrolysis techniques were employed to synthesize several alumina nanostructures. Then, the SEM, XRD, and ASAP analysis methods were utilized to characterize in order to choose the best nanocatalyst. The sulfur and H2S contents were determined through the standard UOP techniques. Amongst the synthesized materials, Al2o3-supported sodium oxide prepared through the wet chemical, and Al2o3 nanocatalysts via spray pyrolysis methods were the most active catalysts for the purpose at hand. In addition, the TiO2 nanostructure and a hybrid of nano alumina support (made via the wet chemical method), decorated on the carbon nanotube, were prepared for this goal. Ultimately, the best chemically characterized nanocatalyst was subjected to evaluations in a fixed bed reactor while effects of temperature, metal loading, and GHSV were understudied. It was observed that the alumina nanoparticles prepared through the wet chemical and spray pyrolysis methods led H2S into elemental sulfur in a reproducible manner with 97 and 98% conversions, respectively. Both of these methods were more desirable than utilizing the commercial catalysts (i.e. CR-3S and CRS-31) providing nearly 96% conversion.