Enhanced plasma-driven H2S removal from natural gas via TiO2-coated dielectric surface modification
Xingwang Wu, Chenyang Shen, Yingwen Li, Fei Gao, Yang Li, Yaolin Wang, Changjun Liu
Abstract
The efficient removal of H 2 S impurities from natural gas is critical for improving gas quality and reducing maintenance costs. This study explores the integration of dielectric barrier discharge (DBD) plasma with TiO 2 to decompose H 2 S effectively. Results show that the presence of TiO 2 significantly improve H 2 S removal and energy efficiency compared with the plasma-only condition. However, the TiO 2 -coated system achieves a much higher H 2 S removal rate (5.4 mmol/h/g TiO2 ), which was 27 times that of TiO 2 -packed system, minimizing TiO 2 usage. Moreover, coated TiO 2 inhibits methane conversion, preserving the primary components of natural gas. Discharge analysis reveals that packing TiO 2 increases the reduced electric field and enhances mean electron energy , while coating further promotes filamentary discharge. Density functional theory (DFT) calculations confirm that defect-rich TiO 2 , formed under plasma conditions, plays a crucial role in facilitating H 2 S decomposition. A plausible reaction pathway for plasma-driven H 2 S decomposition with coated TiO 2 is proposed. This study demonstrates the potential of DBD-coupled coated catalyst technology for efficient H 2 S removal, offering a scalable solution for industrial gas purification .