MOF Enhanced Dielectric Barrier Discharge Plasma Decomposition of H2S in the Presence of Low Alkanes

There exist always some H2S in natural gas. The industrialized process for H2S removal is an energy intense process and must be applied in a large scale. An alternative process is needed. Herein, we report a removal of H2S from a model natural gas mixture with methane, ethane and propane by dielectric barrier discharge (DBD), with which the dielectric (quartz) is frosted and coated with a layer of zeolite imidazole framework-67 (ZIF-67) nanoparticles. Compared to the DBD without coating, the average electric field as well as the mean electron energy of the DBD with ZIF-67 coating are higher at the same specific energy input (SEI), leading to a high H2S conversion of 75.4% with the limited conversion of methane (less than 2%). No conversions of other low alkanes can be detected. This provides a potential way for the H2S removal from the natural gas sources in the remote or isolated region.

Automated summary

This study reports a method utilizing dielectric barrier discharge (DBD) for the removal of H2S from natural gas. Compared to the non-coated DBD, the DBD with a coating of ZIF-67 exhibits higher electric field and electron energy, resulting in a high H2S conversion rate of 75.4%, while the conversion rate of methane is low and no conversions of other low alkanes are detected. This provides a potential approach for H2S removal from natural gas sources in remote or isolated regions.