Material screening for two-step thermochemical splitting of H2S using metal sulfide

Abstract

Associated with the rise in energy demand is the increase in the amount of H2S evolved to the environment. H2S is toxic and dangerous to life and the environment, thus, the need to develop efficient and costeffective ways of disposing of the H2S gas has become all-important. To this end, a two-step thermochemical H2S splitting cycle is proposed in this work which does more than just getting rid of the toxic gas but has the potential to produce valuable H2 gas as well as store the solar heat energy. Studies have proved that the type of material used, such as metal sulfides, is critical to the efficiency of this thermochemical splitting process. As follows, this study focuses on establishing a criterion to aid in selecting favorable metal sulfides for application and further development in the H2S thermochemical decomposition sphere. Using a computational approach, via the HSC Chemistry 8®, evaluations such as the equilibrium yield from the sulfurization and decomposition reaction steps, the temperature required for reaction spontaneity, and the Reversibility Index were determined. Investigations proved that sulfides of Zirconium, Niobium, and Nickel were auspicious candidates for the thermochemical decomposition.