Promoted ZnO Sulfur Removal Adsorbents

Methanol production is one of the most profitable means of adding value to natural
gas. Methanol can be generated from a wide range of carbon and hydrogen sources.
Currently, large-scale production is dominated by the conversion of fossil resources,
mainly natural gas and coal, to carbon monoxide and hydrogen (synthesis gas or
syngas) as the intermediate for catalytic methanol synthesis.
In methanol plants with natural gas as the source of fossil fuel, everything begins
with the treatment of natural gas. Each natural gas reservoir contains different types
and levels of poisonous and harmful ingredients, like hydrogen sulfide, organic sulfur
containing materials, mercury, halogens and etc which can permanently or temporarily
reduce the activity of the downstream catalysts and obviously must be removed.
Accordingly, some guarding materials should be installed to protect those catalysts
against poisons and extend their lifetime. The type and concentration of the harmful
materials in the natural gas stream as well as some specific operating parameters
determine the plant design configuration and types of purification catalysts.
Hydrogen sulfide as a common contaminating compound present in the natural gas
stream, needs to be removed prior to enter into the downstream reactors. In addition,
small amount of hydrogen sulfide which was produced in HDS reactors must be
trapped and adsorbed. Sulfur removal adsorbents, based on zinc oxide would be an
excellent choice for this purpose.