HYDROGEN SULFIDE ADSORPTION BY ALKALINE IMPREGNATED COCONUT SHELL ACTIVATED CARBON

Biogas is one type of renewable energy which can be burnt to produce heat and electricity. However, it cannot be burnt directly due to the presence of hydrogen sulfide (H2S) which is highly corrosive to gas engine. In this study, coconut shell activated carbon (CSAC) was applied as a porous adsorbent for H2S removal. The effect of amount of activated carbon and flow rate of gas stream toward adsorption capacity were investigated. Then, the activated carbons were impregnated by three types of alkaline (NaOH, KOH and K2CO3) with various ratios. The effects of various types of alkaline and their impregnation ratio towards adsorption capacity were analysed. In addition, H2S influent concentration and the reaction temperature on H2S adsorption were also investigated. The result indicated that adsorption capacity increases with the amount of activated carbon and decreases with flow rate of gas stream. Alkaline impregnated activated carbons had better performance than unimpregnated activated carbon. Among all impregnated activated carbons, activated carbon impregnated by K2CO3 with ratio 2.0 gave the highest adsorption capacity. Its adsorption capacity was 25 times higher than unimpregnated activated carbon. The result also indicated that the adsorption capacity of impregnated activated carbon decreased with the increment of H2S influent concentration. Optimum temperature for H2S adsorption was found to be 50˚C. In this study, the adsorption of H2S on K2CO3 impregnated activated carbon was fitted to the Langmuir isotherm. The fresh and spent K2CO3 impregnated activated carbon were characterized to study the adsorption process.