Researchers have developed a new chemical process that is able to change the gas made in the sewer system into hydrogen that can be used for fuel. This process changes hydrogen sulfide, commonly known as gutter gas, emitted from fertilizer fertilizer and in the sewer pipe. Hydrogen sulfide is also made as a byproduct in several industrial processes, including refining oil, mining, and others.
One important aspect of the process made by scientists at Ohio State University is requiring relatively small energy, and the ingredients needed are relatively cheap. The main ingredients for this process include iron sulfide and traces of the amount of molybdenum. Hydrogen sulfide is one of the most dangerous gases produced by industrial and dangerous processes for the environment and human health that face it.
Because of the harmful gas, the researchers have worked on the process to turn it into something used. Study researchers used the previously made processes called chemical looping. This process adds metal oxide particles in a high pressure reactor that allows them to burn fuel without requiring contact between air and fuel. When applied to hydrogen sulfide, the process is called Sulgen. However, the team found that pure iron sulfide did not perform on the scale needed for industrial processes during the study.
The researchers set out to identify other chemicals that could catalyze the reaction and finally found that the number of molybdenum traces with iron sulfide would work for the desired reaction. In addition, the two materials are relatively cheap and easily obtained, making it suitable for the industrial scale conversion process.
When hydrogen sulfide is converted into hydrogen fuel, it can be used as an alternative oil and gas, which reduces the impact on the environment. However, the project researcher said it was too early to find out whether their process might be able to replace other similar technologies that already existed on the market.