Hydrogen Sulfide Decomposition: How to Capture Hydrogen and Sulfur by Photocatalysis

Publication date: Available online 24 December 2019Source: Journal of Photochemistry and Photobiology C: Photochemistry ReviewsAuthor(s): Meng Dan, Shan Yu, Yi Li, Shiqian Wei, Jianglai Xiang, Ying ZhouAbstractH2S is a notorious gas widely generated in the petrochemical industry. How to handle H2S effectively and convert it into highly-valued products is vital. Photocatalysis is promising in this field, as it could directly utilize solar light and convert H2S into H2 and S. In this review, the properties of hydrogen sulfide (H2S) is overviewed first, and conventional techniques (Claus process, thermolysis, non-thermal plasma, electrochemistry and other methods) for H2S decomposition are simply introduced. Basic knowledge of photocatalysis and general strategies for enhancing the activities of photocatalysts are presented as well. Then typical work for photocatalytic decomposition of H2S in gas phase and liquid phase are introduced case by case, with the generated H2 as the main product in these systems. Furthermore, methods for extraction of elemental sulfur from H2S by photocatalysis-related methods will be discussed, with specific attention on photoelectrochemical cells and photovoltaic-electrochemical cells. In the end, current status of the research on photocatalytic decomposition of H2S is summarized, and challenges in this field is put forward. In addition, some other possible strategies for photocatalytic conversion of H2S into highly-valued chemicals instead of hydrog...

Source: Journal of Photochemistry and Photobiology C: Photochemistry Reviews - December 26, 2019 Category: Chemistry Source Type: research