Microwave production of hydrogen and sulfur from hydrogen sulfide wastes

Conference · Wed Jan 01 04:00:00 EST 1992

OSTI ID:10112293

Harkness, J B.L.; Doctor, R D

A waste-treatment process is being developed that uses ``cold`` microwave plasma-chemical reactions to split hydrogen sulfide into elemental hydrogen and sulfur. A clean sulfur product can be recovered and sold, while product gases are purified and separated into seams containing hydrogen, hydrogen sulfide for recycle, and the process purge containing carbon dioxide and water. Experiments with pure hydrogen sulfide at 0.5 to 1.5 L/min flow rates and microwave powers of 400 to 1000 W confirmed that conversions of over 90% per pass at process energy requirements approaching 5 kcal/mol are possible. Experiments with impurities typical of petroleum refinery waste hydrogen sulfide streams have demonstrated that these impurities are compatible with the plasma dissociation process and that they do not create new waste treatment problems. This technology has a long-term potential for saving 40 to 70 {times} 10{sup 12} Btu/yr in the refining industry, for an economic savings of $500 million to $1000 million annually. Although the microwave process should show particular advantages for the petroleum refining industry, the low capital costs and modular nature of the new process should make it economically attractive in connection with the small-scale waste-treatment technologies currently used in the natural gas industry. Currently, in the U.S.S.R., a 500-kW demonstration microwave hydrogen sulfide treatment unit operating at near atmospheric pressure is being tested at the natural gas fields in Orenberg. 3 refs.

• Research Organization: Argonne National Lab., IL (United States)
• Sponsoring Organization: USDOE, Washington, DC (United States)
• DOE Contract Number: W-31109-ENG-38
• OSTI ID: 10112293
• Report Number(s): ANL/CP--74879; CONF-920122--5; ON: DE92005190
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

02 PETROLEUM
020800
03 NATURAL GAS
030700
32 ENERGY CONSERVATION, CONSUMPTION, AND UTILIZATION
320305
37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CHEMISTRY
400105
CHEMICAL REACTORS
DECOMPOSITION
DESULFURIZATION
DISSOCIATION
FLOW RATE
HIGH-FREQUENCY DISCHARGES
HYDROGEN SULFIDES
INDUSTRIAL WASTE MANAGEMENT
INDUSTRY
PLASMA
REFINING
SEPARATION PROCEDURES
WASTE MANAGEMENT
WASTE PROCESSING