Fluidized-bed testing of Z-SORB III sorbent

Phillips Petroleum Company (PPCo) successfully developed a fluidizable version of their proprietary Z-SORB sorbent. Z-SORB sorbent is a ZnO-based regenerable sorbent for removing hydrogen sulfide (H{sub 2}S) and carbonyl sulfide (COS). RTI conducted a life-cycle test on this sorbent in the high-temperature, high-pressure (HTHP) semi-batch fluidized-bed reactor. This test consisted of 50 cycles of sulfidation and regeneration to demonstrate the long-term chemical reactivity and mechanical strength of the Z-SORB sorbent. A simulated air-blown gasifier coal gas was used at 20 atm and 538 {degree}C (1,000{degree}F). The Z-SORB sorbent exhibited excellent sulfur removal capability; the prebreakthrough H{sub 2}S levels were below the detection limit of the analyzer (<10 ppmv). The sulfur capacity of the sorbent at breakthrough (500 ppM H{sub 2}S in reactor exit gas) was 20.2 g S/100 g sorbent in Cycle 1 and was 10 g S/100 g sorbent in Cycle 50. The sorbent loss from the reactor due to fines generation was small. While no significant change in particle size was observed, the bulk density increased by 8 percent over 51 cycles. The attrition resistance of the sorbent after the 51 cycles was slightly lower than the fresh material. The thermogravimetric analyzer (TGA) tests on fresh and reacted sorbents confirmed the sulfur capacity decline in the bench tests; however, the TGA data indicated no change in the H{sub 2}S absorption rate between the fresh and reacted sorbents. The regeneration of the sulfided sorbent was successfully carried out using 2 to 2.5 percent 0{sub 2} in N{sub 2} at a temperature of 649 to 704{degree}C (1,200 to 1,300{degree}F) with no evidence of sulfate formation. Overall, the sorbent exhibited good performance