Insights on Cryogenic Distillation Technology for Simultaneous CO2 and H2S Removal for Sour Gas Fields

Natural gas demand has dramatically increased due to the emerging growth of the world economy and industry. Presently, CO₂ and H₂S content in gas fields accounts for up to 90% and 15%, respectively. Apart from fulfilling the market demand, CO₂ and H₂S removal from natural gas is critical due to their corrosive natures, the low heating value of natural gas and the greenhouse gas effect. To date, several gas fields have remained unexplored due to limited technologies to monetize the highly sour natural gas. A variety of conventional technologies have been implemented to purify natural gas such as absorption, adsorption and membrane and cryogenic separation. The application of these technologies in natural gas upgrading are also presented. Among these commercial technologies, cryogenic technology has advanced rapidly in gas separation and proven ideally suitable for bulk CO₂ removal due to its independence from absorbents or adsorbents, which require a larger footprint, weight and energy. Present work comprehensively reviews the mechanisms and potential of the advanced nonconventional cryogenic separation technologies for processing of natural gas streams with high CO₂ and H₂S content. Moreover, the prospects of emerging cryogenic technologies for future commercialization exploitation are highlighted.     

Upgrading low-quality natural gas with H2S- and CO2-selective polymer membranes: Part II. Process design, economics, and sensitivity study of membrane stages with recycle streams

The cost of membrane separation processes for removing CO₂ and H₂S from low-quality natural gas can be reduced for some concentration ranges of CO₂ and H₂S by utilizing concurrently two different types of polymer membranes, one with a high CO₂/CH₄ selectivity and the other with a high H₂S/CH₄ selectivity. The polymers considered in this exploratory study were 6FDA-HAB polyimide for the removal of CO₂ and [poly(ether urethane urea)] (PEUU) for the removal of H₂S. It was required that the concentrations of CO₂ and H₂S in low-quality natural gas be reduced to US pipeline specifications (≤2 mol% CO₂ and ≤4 ppm H₂S). Low-quality natural gas was simulated in this study by CH₄/CO₂/H₂S mixtures containing up to 40 mol% CO₂ and 10 mol% H₂S. Twenty-seven membrane process configurations (PCs) were examined by computer simulations and optimized in order to determine the most economical configurations. Part I of this study considered only PCs without recycle streams [J. Hao, P.A. Rice, S.A. Stern, Upgrading low-quality natural gas with H₂S- and CO₂-selective polymer membranes. Part I. Process design and economics of membrane stages without recycle streams, J. Membr. Sci. 209 (2002) 177–206]. In Part II, reported below, the study was extended to two- and three-stage PCs with various recycle options. A sensitivity analysis was also made to determine the effects of variations in feed flow rate, feed pressure, membrane module cost, and wellhead price of natural gas on process economics. The economically optimal PCs were found to be either two membrane stages connected in series with or without recycle streams or single stages without recycle, depending on feed composition and selected operating conditions. The optimal two-stage PCs with recycle streams would utilize the H₂S/CH₄-selective membranes in the first stage and either the CO₂/CH₄ or the H₂S/CH₄-selective membranes, or both, in the second stage. Three-stage membrane PCs were not found to be economically competitive under the conditions assumed in this study.     

Enhanced removal of hydrogen sulfide from a gas stream by 3-aminopropyltriethoxysilane-surface-functionalized activated carbon

A commercial activated carbon was functionally modified by silylation with 3-aminopropyltriethoxysilane (APTES). The silylation led to the fixation of weakly basic functional groups, –NH₂, on the surface as indicated by pH titration, Boehm titration, N $_{2^{-}}$ BET analysis and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopic (XPS) analysis. Despite reducing the specific BET area and the pore volume, silylation improved the H₂S removal capacity so that APTES modified activated carbon (APTES-AC) was 3.55 times more effective than the original activated carbon. XPS results indicate that H₂S removal may be associated with the amino (–NH₂) group and the presence of sulfur in the four oxidation states S^2?, S⁰, S⁴⁺ and S⁶⁺. The effects of moisture, oxygen content and temperature on the performance of APTES-AC for H₂S removal were investigated. The presence of moisture in the gas stream was found to have an adverse effect on the H₂S removal, whilst the presence of oxygen favored the removal of H₂S by APTES-AC. The higher removal capacity of APTES-AC relative to the original activated carbon indicates that APTES-AC is a potential candidate for the removal of H₂S from gas streams. The H₂S removal efficiency of APTES-AC was proved be superior to that of Na₂CO₃-impregnated AC by the pilot-scale test of purification H₂S containing industrial waste gas, yellow phosphorus off-gas.     

Removal of SO2 and the simultaneous removal of SO2 and NO from simulated flue gas streams using dielectric barrier discharge plasmas

A gas-phase oxidation method using dielectric barrier discharges (DBDs) has been developed to remove SO₂ and to simultaneously remove SO₂ and NO from gas streams that are similar to gas streams generated by the combustion of fossil fuels. SO₂ and NO removal efficiencies are evaluated as a function of applied voltage, temperature, and concentrations of SO₂, NO, H₂O_(g), and NH3. With constant H₂O_(g) concentration, both SO₂ and NO removal efficiencies increase with increasing temperature from 100 to 160°C. At 160°C with 15% by volume H₂0_(g), more than 95% of the NO and 32% of the S0₂ are simultaneously removed from the gas stream. Injection of NH₃ into the gas stream caused an increase in S0₂ removal efficiency to essentially 100%. These results indicate that DBD plasmas have the potential to simultaneously remove SO₂ and NO from gas streams generated by large-scale fossil fuel combustors.     

Catalytic Systems for the H<Subscript>2</Subscript>S Wet Oxidation at room Temperature

The catalytic wet oxidation process is the most attractive process for small-scale hydrogen sulfide (H₂S) removal from natural gas. The catalytic wet oxidation process is anticipated to be cost effective and simple so that it can be used for treating sour gases containing small amounts of H₂S and can be easily operated even in isolated sites. The development of effective catalyst is the key technology in the wet catalytic oxidation of H₂S. The scale of operation for the process has to be flexible so its use will not be limited by the flow rates of the gas to be treated. The heterogeneous catalytic wet oxidation of H₂S has been attempted on activated carbons, but the H₂S removal capacity still shows the low removal efficiency. The catalytic wet oxidation of H₂S was studied over Fe/MgO for an effective removal of H₂S. In order to develop a sulfur removal technology, one has to know what surface species of catalyst are the most active. This article discusses the following systematic studies: (i) the catalytic preparation to disperse Fe metal well on MgO support for enhancing H₂S removal capacity, (ii) the effect of the catalytic morphology on the activity of Fe/MgO for the H₂S wet oxidation, (iii) the influence of precursor and support on the activity of Fe/MgO for catalytic wet oxidation of H₂S to sulfur.     

Molecularly Engineered 6FDA-Based Polyimide Membranes for Sour Natural Gas Separation

Glassy polyimide membranes are attractive for industrial applications in sour natural gas purification. Unfortunately, the lack of fundamental understanding of relationships between polyimide chemical structures and their gas transport properties in the presence of H₂S constrains the design and engineering of advanced membranes for such challenging applications. Herein, 6FDA-based polyimide membranes with engineered structures were synthesized to tune their CO₂/CH₄ and H₂S/CH₄ separation performances and plasticization properties. Under ternary mixed sour gas feeds, controlling polymer chain packing and plasticization tendency of such polyimide membranes via tuning the chemical structures were found to offer better combined H₂S and CO₂ removal efficiency compared to conventional polymers. Fundamental insights into structure–property relationships of 6FDA-based polyimide membranes observed in this study offer guidance for next generation membranes for sour natural gas separation.     

Molecularly Engineered 6FDA‐Based Polyimide Membranes for Sour Natural Gas Separation

Glassy polyimide membranes are attractive for industrial applications in sour natural gas purification. Unfortunately, the lack of fundamental understanding of relationships between polyimide chemical structures and their gas transport properties in the presence of H₂S constrains the design and engineering of advanced membranes for such challenging applications. Herein, 6FDA‐based polyimide membranes with engineered structures were synthesized to tune their CO₂/CH₄ and H₂S/CH₄ separation performances and plasticization properties. Under ternary mixed sour gas feeds, controlling polymer chain packing and plasticization tendency of such polyimide membranes via tuning the chemical structures were found to offer better combined H₂S and CO₂ removal efficiency compared to conventional polymers. Fundamental insights into structure–property relationships of 6FDA‐based polyimide membranes observed in this study offer guidance for next generation membranes for sour natural gas separation.     

FT-IR study on CO<Subscript>2</Subscript> adsorbed species of CO<Subscript>2</Subscript> sorbents

The stability of amine-functionalized silica sorbents prepared through the incipient wetness technique with primary, secondary, and tertiary amino organosilanes was investigated. The prepared sorbents were exposed to different gaseous streams including CO₂/N₂, dry CO₂/air with varying concentration, and humid CO₂/air mixtures to demonstrate the effect of the gas conditions on the CO₂ adsorption capacity and the stability of the different amine structures. The primary and secondary amine-functionalized adsorbents exhibited CO₂ sorption capacity, while tertiary amine adsorbent hardly adsorbed any CO₂. The secondary amine adsorbent showed better stability than the primary amine sorbent in all the gas conditions, especially dry conditions. Deactivation species were evaluated using FT-IR spectra, and the presence of urea was confirmed to be the main deactivation product of the primary amine adsorbent under dry condition. Furthermore, it was found that the CO₂ concentration can affect the CO₂ sorption capacity as well as the extent of degradation of sorbents.     

Rational Design of Porous Ionic Liquids for Coupling Natural Gas Purification with Waste Gas Conversion

Removal of trace impurities for natural gas purification coupled with waste gas conversion is highly desired in industry. We here report a type of porous ionic liquids (PILs) that can realize the continuous flow separation of CH₄/CO₂/H₂S and the conversion of the captured H₂S to useful products. The PILs are synthesized through a step-by-step surface modification of ionic liquids (ILs) onto UiO-66-OH nanocrystals. The introduction of free tertiary amine groups on the nanocrystal surface endows these PILs with an exceptional ability to enrich H₂S from CO₂ and CH₄ with impressive selectivity, while the permanent pores of UiO-66-OH act as containers to store an exceptionally higher amount of the selectively captured H₂S than the corresponding nonporous ILs. Simultaneously, the tertiary amines as dual functional moieties offer effective catalytic sites for the conversion of the H₂S stored in PILs into 3-mercaptoisobutyric acid, a key intermediate required for the synthesis of Captopril (an antihypertensive drug). Molecular dynamics, density functional theory calculations and Grand Canonical Monte Carlo simulations help understand both the mechanisms of separation and catalysis performance, confirming that the tertiary amines as well as the permanent pores in UiO-66-OH play vital roles in the whole procedure.     

Identifying Optimal Zeolitic Sorbents for Sweetening of Highly Sour Natural Gas

Raw natural gas is a complex mixture comprising methane, ethane, other hydrocarbons, hydrogen sulfide, carbon dioxide, nitrogen, and water. For sour gas fields, selective and energy‐efficient removal of H₂S is one of the crucial challenges facing the natural‐gas industry. Separation using nanoporous materials, such as zeolites, can be an alternative to energy‐intensive amine‐based absorption processes. Herein, the adsorption of binary H₂S/CH₄ and H₂S/C₂H₆ mixtures in the all‐silica forms of 386 zeolitic frameworks is investigated using Monte Carlo simulations. Adsorption of a five‐component mixture is utilized to evaluate the performance of the 16 most promising materials under close‐to‐real conditions. It is found that depending on the fractions of CH₄, C₂H₆, and CO₂, different sorbents allow for optimal H₂S removal and hydrocarbon recovery.     

Adsorption of natural gas and its whole components on adsorbents

Adsorption of each component of natural gas on adsorbent prepared from petroleum coke was studied. At 25 °C and 3.5 MPa, adsorption capacity of the components of natural gas are as follows: C₃H₈, H₂S(0.980) > CO₂(0.691) > C₂H₆(0.160) > CH₄(0.136) > N₂(0.096) (g/g). For natural gas, adsorption capacity is 145.2 (mL/mL) and delivery capacity is 105.7 (mL/mL). One equation between adsorption capacity and boiling point of adsorbed gas was firstly generalized. The adsorption capacity of different component like O₂, N₂, CH₄, C₂H₆, CO₂, H₂S on adsorbents were predicted using the equation. The results fit well with the experimental data. The equation has significance in predicting the adsorption capacity for any component of natural gas. Charge-discharge tests were conducted 10 times, the result indicates that natural gas has significantly worse reversibility in adsorption and desorption in the adsorbent than that of CH₄. The contents of the components after 10 charge-discharge show that the adsorption capacity drop of natural gas is due to the irreversible adsorption of heavy or polar components like C₃H₈, H₂S.     

CO2 Conversion with Alcohols and Amines into Carbonates,Ureas, and Carbamates over CeO2 Catalyst in the Presence and Absence of 2‐Cyanopyridine

Recent progress on the CeO₂ catalyzed synthesis of organic carbonates, ureas, and carbamates from CO₂+alcohols, CO₂+amines, and CO₂+alcohols+amines, respectively, is reviewed. The reactions of CO₂ with alcohols and amines are reversible ones and the degree of the equilibrium limitation of the synthesis reactions is strongly dependent on the properties of alcohols and amines as the substrates. When the equilibrium limitation of the reaction is serious, the equilibrium conversion of the substrate and the yield of the target product is very low, therefore, the shift of the equilibrium reaction to the product side by the removal of H₂O is essential in order to get the target product in high yield. One of the effective method of the H₂O removal from the related reaction systems is the combination with the hydration of 2‐cyanopyridine to 2‐picolinamide, which is also catalyzed by CeO₂.     

Acid gases partial pressures above a 50 wt% aqueous methyldiethanolamine solution: Experimental work and modeling

Aqueous amine solutions are widely used in the industry for acid gas removal. In order to treat natural gas or refinery process streams, an accurate knowledge of solubility data of carbon dioxide, hydrogen sulfide and other sulfur species in aqueous amine solutions is required. In this paper, new equilibrium measurements on 50 wt% aqueous methyldiethanolamine solution with CO₂ and H₂S have been produced. A simple way to correlate the data has been searched and found. First, a model proposed by Posey et al. in 1996, then a Deshmukh–Mather model are used to correlate “vapor–liquid” equilibria. The Posey et al. model lacks accuracy to represent the experimental data, especially for high loadings. The Deshmukh–Mather model shows good agreement as long as the total loading (H₂S + CO₂) does not reach 1.0.     

Copper Adsorption on Lignin for the Removal of Hydrogen Sulfide

Lignin is currently an underutilized part of biomass; thus, further research into lignin could benefit both scientific and commercial endeavors. The present study investigated the potential of kraft lignin as a support material for the removal of hydrogen sulfide (H₂S) from gaseous streams, such as biogas. The removal of H₂S was enabled by copper ions that were previously adsorbed on kraft lignin. Copper adsorption was based on two different strategies: either directly on lignin particles or by precipitating lignin from a solution in the presence of copper. The H₂S concentration after the adsorption column was studied using proton-transfer-reaction mass spectrometry, while the mechanisms involved in the H₂S adsorption were studied with X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. It was determined that elemental sulfur was obtained during the H₂S adsorption in the presence of kraft lignin and the differences relative to the adsorption on porous silica as a control are discussed. For kraft lignin, only a relatively low removal capacity of 2 mg of H₂S per gram was identified, but certain possibilities to increase the removal capacity are discussed.     

Hydrogen Sulfide Induced Carbon Dioxide Activation by Metal‐Free Dual Catalysis

The role of metal free dual catalysis in the hydrogen sulfide (H₂S)‐induced activation of carbon dioxide (CO₂) and subsequent decomposition of resulting monothiolcarbonic acid in the gas phase has been explored. The results suggest that substituted amines and monocarboxylic type organic or inorganic acids via dual activation mechanisms promote both activation and decomposition reactions, implying that the judicious selection of a dual catalyst is crucial to the efficient C?S bond formation via CO₂ activation. Considering that our results also suggest a new mechanism for the formation of carbonyl sulfide from CO₂ and H₂S, these new insights may help in better understanding the coupling between the carbon and sulfur cycles in the atmospheres of Earth and Venus.     

Multicomponent gas separation by an asymmetric permeator containing two different membranes

A numerical analysis of an asymmetric permeator containing two different kinds of membranes and capable of separating a ternary feed gas mixture into three product streams has been carried out. For negligible axial pressure drops in the gas streams, equations have been developed and calculation methods illustrated for four flow patterns: cross, parallel, countercurrent and perfectly mixed. The main parameters used in the analysis are pressure ratios, the ratio of the two membrane areas and the permeabilities. Results have been presented for a 50% H₂10% CO₂40% N₂ feed with a permeator having one cellulose acetate (CA) type membrane and one silicone membrane. For both permeate streams, countercurrent achieves highest permeate qualities and requires least membrane area amongst all four flow patterns. The presence of a silicone membrane produces a richer H₂ permeate from the CA membrane than that from a CA-membrane-alone configuration. Simultaneously, an enriched CO₂ permeate is obtained from the silicone membrane. Under the ideal condition of zero pressure ratios, the asymmetric permeator has also been evaluated against the series configuration of a permeator containing a CA membrane only followed by a permeator containing only a silicone (S) membrane. The asymmetric configuration usually performs better than this series configuration for the chosen range of parameters.     

Achieving Simultaneous CO2 and H2S Conversion via a Coupled Solar‐Driven Electrochemical Approach on Non‐Precious‐Metal Catalysts

Carbon dioxide (CO₂) and hydrogen sulfide (H₂S) are generally concomitant with methane (CH₄) in natural gas and traditionally deemed useless or even harmful. Developing strategies that can simultaneously convert both CO₂ and H₂S into value‐added products is attractive; however it has not received enough attention. A solar‐driven electrochemical process is demonstrated using graphene‐encapsulated zinc oxide catalyst for CO₂ reduction and graphene catalyst for H₂S oxidation mediated by EDTA‐Fe²⁺/EDTA‐Fe³⁺ redox couples. The as‐prepared solar‐driven electrochemical system can realize the simultaneous conversion of CO₂ and H₂S into carbon monoxide and elemental sulfur at near neutral conditions with high stability and selectivity. This conceptually provides an alternative avenue for the purification of natural gas with added economic and environmental benefits.     

A Comprehensive Study of CO2 Absorption and Desorption by Choline-Chloride/Levulinic-Acid-Based Deep Eutectic Solvents

Amine absorption (or amine scrubbing) is currently the most established method for CO₂ capture; however, it has environmental shortcomings and is energy-intensive. Deep eutectic solvents (DESs) are an interesting alternative to conventional amines. Due to their biodegradability, lower toxicity and lower prices, DESs are considered to be “more benign” absorbents for CO₂ capture than ionic liquids. In this work, the CO₂ absorption capacity of choline-chloride/levulinic-acid-based (ChCl:LvAc) DESs was measured at different temperatures, pressures and stirring speeds using a vapour–liquid equilibrium rig. DES regeneration was performed using a heat treatment method. The DES compositions studied had ChCl:LvAc molar ratios of 1:2 and 1:3 and water contents of 0, 2.5 and 5 mol%. The experimental results showed that the CO₂ absorption capacity of the ChCl:LvAc DESs is strongly affected by the operating pressure and stirring speed, moderately affected by the temperature and minimally affected by the hydrogen bond acceptor (HBA):hydrogen bond donator (HBD) molar ratio as well as water content. Thermodynamic properties for CO₂ absorption were calculated from the experimental data. The regeneration of the DESs was performed at different temperatures, with the optimal regeneration temperature estimated to be 80 °C. The DESs exhibited good recyclability and moderate CO₂/N₂ selectivity.     

Reversible chemisorption of carbon dioxide: simultaneous production of fuel-cell grade H2 and compressed CO2 from synthesis gas

One vision of clean energy for the future is to produce hydrogen from coal in an ultra-clean plant. The conventional route consists of reacting the coal gasification product (after removal of trace impurities) with steam in a water gas shift (WGS) reactor to convert CO to CO₂ and H₂, followed by purification of the effluent gas in a pressure swing adsorption (PSA) unit to produce a high purity hydrogen product. PSA processes can also be designed to produce a CO₂ by-product at ambient pressure. This work proposes a novel concept called “Thermal Swing Sorption Enhanced Reaction (TSSER)” which simultaneously carries out the WGS reaction and the removal of CO₂ from the reaction zone by using a CO₂ chemisorbent in a single unit operation. The concept directly produces a fuel-cell grade H₂ and compressed CO₂ as a by-product gas. Removal of CO₂ from the reaction zone circumvents the equilibrium limitations of the reversible WGS reaction and enhances its forward rate of reaction. Recently measured sorption-desorption characteristics of two novel, reversible CO₂ chemisorbents (K₂CO₃ promoted hydrotalcite and Na₂O promoted alumina) are reviewed and the simulated performance of the proposed TSSER concept using the promoted hydrotalcite as the chemisorbent is reported.