TiO2-based shaped catalyst for the recovery of elemental sulfur from H2S and SO2 gas streams

Original Paper
First Online:
Received:
Revised:
Accepted:
  • 57 Downloads

Abstract

The Claus process has been used for the conversion of H2S and SO2 to elemental sulfur. These two sulfur compounds need special attention because they are very poisonous with negative impact on both the environment and human health. Here, highly active Fe–Ni/TiO2 catalyst has been prepared and shaped by three different binders (bentonite, polyethylene glycol and carboxymethyl cellulose) into extrudes. Comparing the mechanical strength and surface area of prepared extrudes, the optimal shaped catalyst was selected with 20% of bentonite, 2% of PEG and 2% of CMC. The optimal catalyst was characterized by X-ray powder diffraction, temperature-programmed reduction, Brunauer–Emmett–Teller specific surface area, Barrett–Joyner–Halenda, scanning electron microscopy and energy-dispersive X-ray techniques and used for sulfur recovery process. The performance of this product for sulfur recovery via Claus process was excellent with the conversion of hydrogen sulfide of 76.77% and sulfur dioxide of 97.83%. The catalyst also provides high hydrolysis activity of CS2 (83.06%). Therefore, a highly active TiO2-supported shaped catalyst with 85.62% of conversion efficiency has been prepared successfully to convert the small amounts of H2S, SO2 and CS2 to elemental sulfur.

Keywords

Fe–Ni/TiO2 catalyst Claus Extrude Hydrogen sulfide Sulfur dioxide 
This is a preview of subscription content, log in to check access.

Notes

Acknowledgements

The authors are thankful to Research Council of Iran University of Science and Technology (Tehran) for financial support.

References

  1. Anbia M, Rezaie M (2016) Synthesis of supported ruthenium catalyst for phenol degradation in the presence of peroxymonosulfate. Water Air Soil Pollut 227:349–358CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  2. Ashrafi M, Pfeifer C, Pröll T, Hofbauer H (2008) Experimental study of model biogas catalytic steam reforming: impact of sulfur on the deactivation and regeneration of Ni-based catalysts. Energy Fuels 22:4190–4195CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  3. Bagheri S, Shameli K, Abd Hamid SB (2012) Synthesis and characterization of anatase titanium dioxide nanoparticles using egg white solution via sol-gel method. J Chem 2013:728–733Google Scholar
  4. Bandarchian F, Anbia M (2015) Conventional hydrothermal synthesis of nanoporous molecular sieve 13X for selective adsorption of trace amount of hydrogen sulfide from mixture with propane. J Nat Gas Sci Eng 26:1380–1387CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  5. Bineesh KV, Kim SY, Jermy BR, Park DW (2009) Catalytic performance of vanadia-doped titania-pillared clay for the selective catalytic oxidation of H2S. J Ind Eng Chem 15:207–211CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  6. Chen CL, Wang CH, Weng HS (2004) Supported transition-metal oxide catalysts for reduction of sulfur dioxide with hydrogen to elemental sulfur. Chemosphere 56:425–431CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  7. Clark PD, Dowling NI, Huang M (2001) Conversion of CS2 and COS over alumina and titania under Claus process conditions: reaction with H2O and SO2. Appl Catal B Environ 31:107–112CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  8. Clark PD, Dowling NI, Huang M, Okemona O, Butlin GD, Hou R, Kijlstra WS (2002) Studies on sulfate formation during the conversion of H2S and SO2 to sulfur over activated alumina. Appl Catal A Gen 235:61–69CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  9. Dorado F, Romero R, Cañizares P (2001) Influence of clay binders on the performance of Pd/HZSM-5 catalysts for the hydroisomerization of n-Butane. Ind Eng Chem Res 40:3428–3434CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  10. Gao W, Jin R, Chen J, Guan X, Zeng H, Zhang F, Guan N (2004) Titania-supported bimetallic catalysts for photocatalytic reduction of nitrate. Catal Today 90:331–336CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  11. Jasra RV, Tyagi B, Badheka YM, Choudary VN, Bhat TS (2003) Effect of clay binder on sorption and catalytic properties of zeolite pellets. Ind Eng Chem Res 42:3263–3272CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  12. Ju J, Shi Y, Wu D (2012) TiO2 nanotube supported Pd–Ni catalyst for methanol electro-oxidation. Powder Technol 230:252–256CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  13. Kim MI, Ju WD, Kim KH, Park DW, Hong SS (2006a) Selective oxidation of hydrogen sulfide to elemental sulfur and ammonium thiosulfate using VOx/TiO2 catalysts. Stud Surf Sci Catal 159:225–228CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  14. Kim MI, Park DW, Park SW, Yang X, Choi JS, Suh DJ (2006b) Selective oxidation of hydrogen sulfide containing excess water and ammonia over vanadia–titania aerogel catalysts. Catal Today 111:212–216CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  15. Kominami H, Kato JI, Takada Y, Doushi Y, Ohtani B, Nishimoto S, Inoue M, Inui T, Kera Y (1997) Novel synthesis of microcrystalline titanium (IV) oxide having high thermal stability and ultra-high photocatalytic activity: thermal decomposition of titanium (IV) alkoxide in organic solvents. Catal Lett 46:235–240CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  16. Koyuncu DE, Yasyerli S (2009) Selectivity and stability enhancement of iron oxide catalyst by ceria incorporation for selective oxidation of H2S to sulfur. Ind Eng Chem Res 48:5223–5229CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  17. Lucas A, Valverde JL, Sánchez P, Dorado F, Ramos MJ (2005) Hydroisomerization of n-octane over platinum catalysts with or without binder. Appl Catal A Gen 282:15–24CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  18. Mancini M, Nobili F, Tossici R, Wohlfahrt-Mehrens M, Marassi R (2011) High performance, environmentally friendly and low cost anodes for lithium-ion battery based on TiO2 anatase and water soluble binder carboxymethyl cellulose. J Power Sources 196:9665–9671CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  19. Nawawi WI, Zaharudin R, Zuliahani A, Shukri DS, Azis TF, Razali Z (2017) Immobilized TiO2-Polyethylene glycol: effects of aeration and pH of methylene blue dye. Appl Sci 7:508–518CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  20. Pecchi G, Reyes P, Lopez T, Gomez R, Moreno A, Fierro JLG, Martínez-Arias A (2003) Catalytic combustion of methane on Fe–TiO2 catalysts prepared by sol-gel method. J Sol Gel Sci Tech 27:205–214CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  21. Platonov OI, Tsemekhman LS (2009) Gas composition effect on the Klauss process efficiency. Rus J Appl Chem 82:1314–1316CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  22. Qiu L, Wang Y, Pang D, Ouyang F, Zhang C, Cao G (2016) Characterization and catalytic activity of Mn–Co/TiO2 catalysts for NO oxidation to NO2 at low temperature. Catalysts 6:9–21CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  23. Sassi M, Gupta AK (2008) Sulfur recovery from acid gas using the Claus process and high temperature air combustion (HiTAC) technology. Am J Environ Sci 4:502–511CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  24. Shen W, Huggins FE, Shah N, Jacobs G, Wang Y, Shi X, Huffman GP (2008) Novel Fe–Ni nanoparticle catalyst for the production of CO-and CO2-free H2 and carbon nanotubes by dehydrogenation of methane. Appl Catal A Gen 351:102–110CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  25. Shiraishi Y, Sakamoto H, Sugano Y, Ichikawa S, Hirai T (2013) Pt–Cu bimetallic alloy nanoparticles supported on anatase TiO2: highly active catalysts for aerobic oxidation driven by visible light. ACS Nano 7:9287–9297CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  26. Sing KS (1985) Reporting physisorption data for gas/solid systems with special reference to the determination of surface area and porosity. Pure Appl Chem 57:603–619CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  27. Tasdemir HM, Yasyerli S, Yasyerli N (2015) Selective catalytic oxidation of H2S to elemental sulfur over titanium based Ti–Fe, Ti–Cr and Ti–Zr catalysts. Int J Hydrogen Energy 40:9989–10001CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  28. Tauster SJ, Fung SC, Baker RTK, Horsley JA (1981) Strong interactions in supported-metal catalysts. Science 211:1121–1125CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  29. Van de Loosdrecht J, Van der Kraan AM, Van Dillen AJ, Geus JW (1997) Metal-support interaction: titania-supported and silica-supported nickel catalysts. J Catal 170:217–226CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  30. Van Nisselrooya PFMT, Lagasb JA (1993) Superclaus reduces SO2, emission by the use of a new selective oxidation catalyst. Catal Today 16:263–271CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  31. Waqif M, Saad AM, Bensitel M, Bachelier J, Saur O, Lavalley JC (1992) Comparative study of SO2 adsorption on metal oxides. J Chem Soc Faraday Transact 88:2931–2936CrossRefGoogle Scholar

Copyright information

© Islamic Azad University (IAU) 2017

Authors and Affiliations

  1. 1.Department of Chemistry, Science and Research BranchIslamic Azad UniversityTehranIran
  2. 2.Research Laboratory of Nanoporous Materials, Faculty of ChemistryIran University of Science and TechnologyNarmak, TehranIran

Personalised recommendations