Experimental splitting of hydrogen sulfide by halogens for application in reaction cycles

Abstract

Hydrogen sulfide is a toxic gas that is almost always present in the processing of crude oil or natural gas and must be removed. In addition, hydrogen can be used as an energy carrier if it can be separated from H2S. In this work, as the first step of a reaction cycle that could achieve just that, the bromination and chlorination of hydrogen sulfide are experimentally studied. It can be shown that both halogens are capable of completely converting hydrogen sulfide in a gas phase reaction. While the chlorination can produce byproducts, the bromination is free of such.