Adsorption of hydrogen sulphide (H2S) by activated carbons derived from oil-palm shell

Abstract Adsorption of hydrogen sulphide (H 2 S) onto activated carbons derived from oil palm shell, an abundant solid waste from palm oil processing mills, by thermal or chemical activation method was investigated in this paper. Dynamic adsorption in a fixed bed configuration showed that the palm-shell activated carbons prepared by chemical activation (KOH or H 2 SO 4 impregnation) performed better than the palm-shell activated carbon by thermal activation and a coconut-shell-based commercial activated carbon. Static equilibrium adsorption studies confirmed this experimental result. An intra-particle Knudsen diffusion model based on a Freundlich isotherm was developed for predicting the amount of H 2 S adsorbed. Desorption tests at the same temperature as adsorption (298 K) and at an elevated temperature (473 K) were carried out to confirm the occurrence of chemisorption and oxidation of H 2 S on the activated carbon. Surface chemistries of the palm-shell activated carbons were characterized by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and Boehm titration. It was found that uptaking H 2 S onto the palm-shell activated carbons was due to different mechanisms, e.g. physisorption, chemisorption and/or H 2 S oxidation, depending on the activation agent and activation method.