Stability of lanthanum oxide-based H2S sorbents in realistic fuel processor/fuel cell operation

We report that lanthana-based sulfur sorbents are an excellent choice as once-through chemical filters for the removal of trace amounts of H2S and COS from any fuel gas at temperatures matching those of solid oxide fuel cells. We have examined sorbents based on lanthana and Pr-doped lanthana with up to 30 at.% praseodymium, having high desulfurization efficiency, as measured by their ability to remove H2S from simulated reformate gas streams to below 50 ppbv with corresponding sulfur capacity exceeding 50 mg S gsorbent−1 at 800 °C. Intermittent sorbent operation with air-rich boiler exhaust-type gas mixtures and with frequent shutdowns and restarts is possible without formation of lanthanide oxycarbonate phases. Upon restart, desulfurization continues from where it left at the end of the previous cycle. These findings are important for practical applications of these sorbents as sulfur polishing units of fuel gases in the presence of small or large amounts of water vapor, and with the regular shutdown/start-up operation practiced in fuel processors/fuel cell systems, both stationary and mobile, and of any size/scale.