Chapter 4
Hydrogen Sulfide Decomposition
and Nanotechnology
4.1 Hydrogen Sulfide Decomposition
Hydrogen sulfide is yet another important source of sustainable hydrogen. H 2 S is
categorized as a highly toxic pollutant of both natural and anthropic origins. Naturally,
Black Sea can be regarded as the one major reservoir of H 2 S because of its internal
structure. The upper layer is aerobic and runs down to the length of 150 m. The lower
layer consists of the anoxic sea where the concentration of the compound increases
and with the increase in depth, it is ultimately reached to the constant concentration
of ~9.5 mg/L. Sulfur-reducing bacteria are responsible for this high concentration
of H 2 S [1]. Coal seams can be considered as the second major natural source of the
H 2 S. The presence of the compound in the coal mines is also responsible for the large
number of deaths of the mine workers. The presence of large quantity of H 2 S is either
due to the thermochemical reactions or because of the bacterial sulfate reduction [2].
Different anthropic activities are the source of the H 2 S generation, mainly petrochemical and oil extraction processes. The crude oil is enriched with large quantity
of sulfur-containing compounds including disulphides, thioethers, polybenzothiophenes, etc. and their derivatives. Hydrodesulfurization of these compounds in the
process of purifying crude oil results in the formation of H 2 S [3, 4]. H 2 S is produced
as a dangerous chemical effluent from various industries, hence presenting a serious
threat of poisoning to the industrial workers [5]. H 2 S is also produced in the biomass
gasification plants as sulfur is present in the combined form in the feedstocks [6]. It
can also be produced from the wastewater treatment because of anaerobic oxidation
of the dissolved sulfur compounds in the feed [7].
H 2 S can be used as the promising source for the generation of sustainable
hydrogen. The decomposition of H 2 S serves two important purposes. Firstly, it eliminates one of the most toxic pollutants, and secondly it generated the sustainable H 2 .
There are several methods for the decomposition of H 2 S for the liberation of H 2 .
Some of them are briefly discussed here.
© The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s), under exclusive license
to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2021
S. Farrukh et al., Nanotechnology and the Generation of Sustainable Hydrogen,
Green Energy and Technology, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-60402-8_4
37
Hydrogen Sulfide Decomposition
and Nanotechnology
4.1 Hydrogen Sulfide Decomposition
Hydrogen sulfide is yet another important source of sustainable hydrogen. H 2 S is
categorized as a highly toxic pollutant of both natural and anthropic origins. Naturally,
Black Sea can be regarded as the one major reservoir of H 2 S because of its internal
structure. The upper layer is aerobic and runs down to the length of 150 m. The lower
layer consists of the anoxic sea where the concentration of the compound increases
and with the increase in depth, it is ultimately reached to the constant concentration
of ~9.5 mg/L. Sulfur-reducing bacteria are responsible for this high concentration
of H 2 S [1]. Coal seams can be considered as the second major natural source of the
H 2 S. The presence of the compound in the coal mines is also responsible for the large
number of deaths of the mine workers. The presence of large quantity of H 2 S is either
due to the thermochemical reactions or because of the bacterial sulfate reduction [2].
Different anthropic activities are the source of the H 2 S generation, mainly petrochemical and oil extraction processes. The crude oil is enriched with large quantity
of sulfur-containing compounds including disulphides, thioethers, polybenzothiophenes, etc. and their derivatives. Hydrodesulfurization of these compounds in the
process of purifying crude oil results in the formation of H 2 S [3, 4]. H 2 S is produced
as a dangerous chemical effluent from various industries, hence presenting a serious
threat of poisoning to the industrial workers [5]. H 2 S is also produced in the biomass
gasification plants as sulfur is present in the combined form in the feedstocks [6]. It
can also be produced from the wastewater treatment because of anaerobic oxidation
of the dissolved sulfur compounds in the feed [7].
H 2 S can be used as the promising source for the generation of sustainable
hydrogen. The decomposition of H 2 S serves two important purposes. Firstly, it eliminates one of the most toxic pollutants, and secondly it generated the sustainable H 2 .
There are several methods for the decomposition of H 2 S for the liberation of H 2 .
Some of them are briefly discussed here.
© The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s), under exclusive license
to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2021
S. Farrukh et al., Nanotechnology and the Generation of Sustainable Hydrogen,
Green Energy and Technology, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-60402-8_4
37