Catalytic Removal of Sulfur Compounds from Industrial Gases
This research community develops chemical processes and materials to strip hydrogen sulfide and carbonyl sulfide from gas streams, primarily to purify fuels and recover elemental sulfur.
The work centers on catalytic oxidation and hydrolysis reactions, specifically targeting hydrogen sulfide and carbonyl sulfide in blast furnace gas, natural gas, and coal gas. Recurring methods include selective oxidation to elemental sulfur and catalytic hydrolysis, often conducted at room or low temperatures. Materials of interest include activated carbon, biochar, and metal-doped catalysts such as alumina, ceria, and transition metal oxides. The applications are explicitly tied to gas desulfurization, sulfur recovery units, and the purification of biogas and industrial off-gases.
Sulfur research accounts for the largest share of this community’s output, representing 1.2% of all tracked sulfur research, with 1,204 papers. Hydrogen research follows with 259 papers, and manganese research includes 94 papers.
The community comprises 2,365 papers, published most frequently in Fuel, the International Journal of Hydrogen Energy, and Industrial & Engineering Chemistry Research.
Recent work continues to focus on enhancing catalyst resistance to chlorine and hydrogen chloride in blast furnace gas purification, developing low-temperature hydrolysis catalysts from waste materials, and improving the selective oxidation of hydrogen sulfide to sulfur using nitrogen-rich carbon aerogels and biochar.