BEIJING, Jan. 6 (Xinhua) -- An industrial demonstration project which passed an acceptance review in Beijing on Tuesday can decompose hydrogen sulfide (H2S), a highly toxic industrial waste gas, into high-purity hydrogen and sulfur, offering an innovative pathway for green transformation in traditional industries such as natural gas, petrochemicals and coal utilization.
The project is capable of processing 100,000 cubic meters of H2S annually. It was developed by a team led by Li Can from the Dalian Institute of Chemical Physics under the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), using off-field electrocatalysis to completely decompose H2S into hydrogen and sulfur.
Project collaborators include Shandong Sunway Chemical Group Co. Ltd., the CAS' Yulin Institute of Clean Energy Innovation, and Haoming Energy Technology (Dalian) Co., Ltd.
H2S EMISSIONS CHALLENGE
Global energy utilization remains dependent on natural gas, oil and coal, and faces environmental challenges due to H2S emissions. As a highly toxic compound, H2S can be oxidized into sulfur dioxide easily, leading to acid rain, ecological damage and serious risks to human health.
H2S is primarily generated as an associated product or byproduct of natural gas extraction, petroleum refining and coal utilization. According to the China Sulphuric Acid Industry Association, over 8 billion cubic meters of H2S are processed annually in China, while the global figure stands at more than 70 billion cubic meters. Potential H2S reserves are estimated to exceed 4 trillion cubic meters worldwide.
Given its widespread presence and hazardous nature, the complete elimination and utilization of H2S remain a long-standing and critical challenge.
LAB TO FACTORY
Since 2003, CAS academician Li Can has led the team to explore unconventional methods such as using light and electricity to decompose H2S. Through innovative technologies, the team achieved sulfur and hydrogen production in reactors spatially separated from electrodes.
This design has effectively resolved engineering scale-up challenges. More importantly, the innovative method fundamentally transforms the reaction paradigm of traditional electrocatalytic systems, with safety and reliability at the conceptual level.
Then the team collaborated with coal chemical enterprises to bring the results from lab to factory, with an aim to achieve large-scale production. The team employed technologies such as off-field electrocatalysis for over-splitting H2S into hydrogen and sulfur.
GREEN TRANSFORMATION
The demonstration project uses H2S produced from a methanol plant at Sino-Singapore Chemical, Henan Energy Chemical Group Co., Ltd. Operational data shows that the facility's H2S conversion rate exceeds 99.999 percent, and its sulfur and hydrogen all meet high-grade commercial standards.
This technology provides a new way for the complete elimination of H2S and its resource recycling, offering both environmental and economic benefits.
If all the 8 billion cubic meters of H2S processed in China every year were treated by this technology using wind and solar power, it would recover approximately 730,000 tonnes of low-carbon hydrogen. ■
