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Identifying Optimal Zeolitic Sorbents for Sweetening of Highly Sour Natural Gas
Author(s) -
Shah Mansi S.,
Tsapatsis Michael,
Siepmann J. Ilja
Publication year - 2016
Publication title -
angewandte chemie
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
eISSN - 1521-3757
pISSN - 0044-8249
DOI - 10.1002/ange.201600612
Subject(s) - sour gas , natural gas , chemistry , hydrogen sulfide , amine gas treating , adsorption , hydrocarbon , methane , acid gas , zeolite , chemical engineering , organic chemistry , inorganic chemistry , catalysis , sulfur , engineering
Raw natural gas is a complex mixture comprising methane, ethane, other hydrocarbons, hydrogen sulfide, carbon dioxide, nitrogen, and water. For sour gas fields, selective and energy‐efficient removal of H 2 S is one of the crucial challenges facing the natural‐gas industry. Separation using nanoporous materials, such as zeolites, can be an alternative to energy‐intensive amine‐based absorption processes. Herein, the adsorption of binary H 2 S/CH 4 and H 2 S/C 2 H 6 mixtures in the all‐silica forms of 386 zeolitic frameworks is investigated using Monte Carlo simulations. Adsorption of a five‐component mixture is utilized to evaluate the performance of the 16 most promising materials under close‐to‐real conditions. It is found that depending on the fractions of CH 4 , C 2 H 6 , and CO 2 , different sorbents allow for optimal H 2 S removal and hydrocarbon recovery.