Hydrogen sulphide (H₂S) is a highly toxic gas with a characteristic smell of rotten eggs. It is highly reactive and forms water and environmentally harmful sulphur dioxide when burned in the air. For environmental and safety reasons, H₂S must be removed from raw materials containing sulphur, such as natural gas, crude oil or biogas, before they are used.
Sulphur is an important raw material in the chemical and pharmaceutical industries. Currently, the most commonly used process for extracting sulphur from gases containing H₂S is the modified Claus process, which consists of several stages and is very cost-intensive. This process only works for gas streams with more than 30% H₂S content and fine desulphurization is required at the end of the process.
VABECK® has developed an innovative process for the thermal splitting of hydrogen sulphide and the recovery of elemental sulphur.
VABECK® PROCESS offers complete decomposition of H₂S into sulphur and hydrogen and separation of reaction products, even at low H₂S concentrations, e.g. in biogas or sewage sludge. Compared to the Claus process, the investment and operating costs are significantly lower, as no catalysts and no fine desulphurization are required.
