Adsorptive removal of dimethylsulfide and t-butylmercaptan from pipeline natural gas fuel on Ag zeolites under ambient conditions

Desulfurization of pipeline natural gas fuel at ambient conditions before introduction to reforming processes is strongly needed for stationary applications of fuel cells. Adsorptive removal of dimethlysulfide (DMS) and t-butylmercaptan (TBM) from pipeline natural gas was efficiently carried out by using silver exchanged Y zeolites (AgNa-Y) in the presence of water at room temperature and normal pressure. The capacity and adsorptivity for DMS and TBM on AgNa-Y were improved by an increase in silver content of AgNa-Y. Adsorption runs for DMS and TBM were carried out separately to compare their adsorptivity on AgNa-Y. The sulfur adsorption capacity for DMS on Ag(18)Na-Y (1.9 mmol g−1) was much higher than that for TBM (0.6 mmol g−1). The clear color change of AgNa-Y during the period of adsorption run provides information regarding the formation of silver sulfide species on AgNa-Y. The used AgNa-Y was regenerated easily by heat treatment in air at 500 °C.