Study on the desulfurization performance of iron/ethanolamine/deep eutectic solvent system

Area of Science:

• Chemical Engineering
• Materials Science
• Environmental Chemistry

Background:

• Hydrogen sulfide (H2S) is a toxic and corrosive gas requiring efficient removal from industrial gas streams.
• Deep eutectic solvents (DES) offer tunable properties for gas absorption applications.
• Iron and alcohol amines are known to interact with H2S, but their combined performance in DES needs optimization.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the efficacy of a novel iron/ethanolamine/DES system as a desulfurizer for H2S removal.
• To evaluate the performance enhancement of the combined system compared to individual components.
• To assess the stability, recyclability, and desulfurization products of the developed system.

Main Methods:

• Preparation of the iron/ethanolamine/DES system.
• Characterization of the absorbent using Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR).
• Evaluation of H2S removal efficiency across a temperature range (30-90°C).
• Analysis of desulfurization products using energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS) and X-ray diffraction (XRD).

Main Results:

• The iron/ethanolamine/DES system exhibited significantly enhanced H2S removal performance compared to DES solutions containing only iron or ethanolamine.
• The system maintained high H2S removal efficiency over a broad temperature range (30-90°C).
• The absorbent demonstrated stable performance and could be recycled at least three times.
• The desulfurization product was identified as elemental sulfur.

Conclusions:

• The iron/ethanolamine/DES system is a highly effective and stable desulfurizer for H2S removal.
• The synergistic effect between iron, ethanolamine, and DES contributes to the enhanced performance.
• This system shows potential for practical applications in industrial gas sweetening due to its recyclability and wide operating temperature range.