Research on Natural Gas Desulfurization by Membrane Method

Is no one doing research in this area? ? ? ?

Probably more people are involved in production, while fewer are involved in research and development~~

If people are engaged in production, then there must be those who do research as well. Natural gas membrane desulfurization is not some inherited secret formula; it can only be achieved through scientific research.

There are mainly two types of membranes that can be used for hydrogen sulfide removal from natural gas. One type is a rubber membrane: it allows high-carbon hydrocarbons (such as butane, pentane, hexane, etc.), carbon dioxide, hydrogen sulfide, and water vapor to pass through preferentially ； The permeation rates of methane, ethane, and nitrogen are relatively low. The permeation rate of this membrane for hydrogen sulfide is approximately twice that of carbon dioxide. This membrane can withstand a transmembrane pressure difference of 70 atm. Generally speaking, vacuum pumping is required to increase the removal rate of hydrogen sulfide; if the hydrogen sulfide removal meets the specified standards, additional post-treatment techniques are needed. Another type of membrane, known as a transfer-promoting membrane, takes advantage of the reversible reaction between hydrogen sulfide and certain groups in the membrane. It is characterized by extremely high selectivity; it is selective not only toward hydrogen sulfide/methane but also toward hydrogen sulfide/carbon dioxide. As a result, the hydrogen sulfide concentration in the passing airflow is relatively high. For the first type of membrane, I am conducting research, and industrial membrane modules are already in production ； The second type of membrane has been extensively studied by Professor Wang Zhi’s research group, and membrane modules at pilot-scale have also been produced.

Are there any manufacturers that do this? We need to use this here too

Can your type of membrane module be used for the preliminary purification of natural gas at gas field wellheads? What are the specific requirements regarding the gas quality? Could you introduce it further?

Our PDMS vapor permeation membrane modules are highly suitable for the removal, recovery, and concentration of water vapor, propane, butane, carbon dioxide, hydrogen sulfide, and COS from natural gas, excluding methane and ethane as well as nitrogen. The approximate order of priority for recombination components is: C6+ > C6 > C5 > C4 > H2S = H2O > C3 = CO2 > C2H6 > CH4 = N2. The pressure should be less than 7 PMa.

What to do with the removed sulfur? Are there any sulfur recovery technologies that can be used for this purpose?

Sulfur is produced from hydrogen sulfide-rich feed gas. There are many techniques for this; generally, the Claud reaction is used, but biological methods are also employed.