Adsorption of hydrogen sulphide (H2S) using xerogel synthesized from palm kernel shell biochar

Abstract

Xerogel is a typical porous material with a large internal surface area, causing them to have significant gas adsorption. Adsorption performance was investigated to determine the potential contribution of xerogel to removing Hydrogen Sulphide (H2S) in this research. Adsorption is a well-known energy-efficient approach for removing acid gases at low temperatures. H2S gas harms human health, such as headaches, eye irritation, and loss of smell if exposed to a low concentration. Furthermore, the physical and chemical properties of the raw material and synthesized xerogel were evaluated by various techniques: Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR), thermogravimetric Analysis (TGA), and Scan Electron Microscopy (SEM). Results showed that the removal of H2S increased with increasing adsorbent mass from 3 to 12 g and decreased flow rate from 40 to 26 L/h. The maximum Adsorption capacity of Xerogel for H2S was 27.5 mg/g, and the surface area was 0.2686 m2/g. This research shows the significant potential of using adsorbent materials obtained from waste to absorb H2S.