LOW-TEMPERATURE CATALYSTS FOR SELECTIVE OXIDATION OF HYDROGEN SULFIDE TO SULFUR

Natural gas provided 30% of the energy consumed in the U.S. in 1992.Unfortunately, almost 25% of the U.S. gas reserves are contaminated with H2S.Due to its acidic nature and corrosivity, the H2S content of gas enteringpipelines must be lower than 4ppm.In a typical large gas plant, the H2S is stripped out of the natural gas by anaqueous amine solution. Upon regeneration, the amine solution produces aconcentrated stream of H2S. Traditionally, small amounts of H2S has beenincinerated to SO2 prior to venting, or, treated in Claus plants to recover thesulfur. Since the Claus reaction is limited by equilibrium, it is expensive tooperate the Claus process at high conversions or small scales.TDA Research proposes to develop a catalytic process for partial oxidation of H2Sto sulfur. In Phase I, the activity and selectivity of the catalysts will beinvestigated as a function of temperature, catalyst composition, and reactantconcentration. They will also carry out engineering analyses to compare thesenovel catalyst systems with current tail gas treatment technology, as well asidentify the potential for use in related applications.