posted on 2024-01-22, 06:04authored byDonald Hill, Yubiao Niu, Henry Apsey, Omotoke Olonisakin, Richard E. Palmer, Shirin Alexander
In this paper, we
report the H2S adsorption behavior
of a sorbent composed of mixtures of tenorite (CuO) and brochantite
[Cu4(OH)6SO4]. These materials are
readily prepared through the addition of NaOH(aq) to CuSO4(aq). They can be loaded onto polymer foams to create effective
filters that can remove malodorous H2S gas, as evidenced
by breakthrough tests. X-ray diffraction shows that the ratio of the
two compounds in the mixture can be finely tuned by varying the amount
of NaOH(aq) that is added to the reaction mixture. X-ray
photoelectron spectroscopy shows that brochantite, like tenorite,
has the ability to chemically adsorb H2S. Correlation of
the H2S breakthrough data with scanning transmission electron
microscopy measurements shows that the most effective sorbents contain
nanoscale needle-like particles. These are likely to be formed largely
by the tenorite phase. The samples with the greatest H2S adsorption efficacy contained less than 20% tenorite in the mixture,
where these particles had the greatest abundance. The application
of this sorbent onto porous substrates to create effective filters,
along with the synthetic ease of its production, could allow this
methodology to find use in a number of areas where H2S
poses a problem. This could include areas where protective clothing
is required to adsorb the gas from environments where there is a high
level of H2S, for example, in wastewater treatment plants,
oil and gas wells, or in the medical sector, where it could be deployed
as filter media.