Removal of H2S by a commercially available zinc oxide sorbent was studied using a packed-bed reactor for
desulfurizing the gas produced from steam-hydrogasification of carbonaceous materials. Experimental runs
were conducted to monitor sulfur removal efficiency and H2S breakthrough time for the operation variables
such as reaction temperature, steam content, space velocity, inlet H2S concentration, and sorbent particle
size. For the inlet gas with 45 vol % steam content, the initial sulfur removal efficiency exhibited a maximum
around 636 K. Varying the steam content of inlet gas affected the equilibrium of sorbent sulfidation in a
reversible way, leading to the decrease of sulfur capture capacity of the sorbent as the steam content increased.
Increasing the space velocity from 8 000 to 24000 h-1 decreased sulfur capture capacity significantly, indicating
the deterioration of gas−solid contact in the reactor at the increased gas flow rates. Inlet H2S concentration
was varied from 100 to 800 ppmv to reflect the diversity of steam-hydrogasifier feedstocks, which affected
sulfur capture capacity of the sorbent in such a way that the extent of sorbent utilization was limited by the
increased H2S concentration. Sorbent particle size was varied from 150−250 to 425−1000 μm to look into
the effect of intraparticle mass transfer limitation. The particles greater than 425 μm exhibited the sulfur
capture capacity that was limited by the reduced extent of sorbent utilization.
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