ABSTRACT
For the photocatalytic degradation of the hydrogen sulphide (H2S) in the gas-phase it was developed a rectangular reactor, coated with acrylic paint supported on fiber cement material. The surface formed by the paint coverage was characterized structural and morphologically by scanning electron microscopy with energy dispersive X-ray and X-ray diffraction analysis. The flow rate and the inlet concentration of H2S were evaluated as operational performance parameters of the reactor. Removal efficiencies of up to 94% were obtained at a flow rate of 2 L min−1 (residence time of 115 s) and inlet concentration of 31 ppm of H2S. In addition, the H2S degradation kinetics was modelled according to the Langmuir–Hinshelwood (L–H) model for the inlet concentrations of 8–23 ppm of H2S. The results suggest that flow rate has a more important influence on photocatalytic degradation than the inlet concentration. It is assumed that H2S has been oxidized to , a condition that led to a deactivation of the photocatalyst after 193 min of semi-continuous use.
Disclosure statement
No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.