Hydrogen sulfide adsorption using fine rubber particle media

Fine rubber particle media (FRPM) derived from consumer waste sources, such as discarded vehicle tires, has been found to adsorb hydrogen sulfide (H2S) from biogas. Compared with traditional H2S adsorbents, economic advantages make FRPM a potentially attractive alternative. The challenge for FRPM reuse in biogas scrubbing applications is to increase its adsorption capacity so that it competes well with traditional adsorbents in terms of effectiveness and life cycle cost. In this research, temperature and packing density were varied during H2S breakthrough tests. H2S removal by FRPM was optimized at a packing density of 75% of the column volume, and the adsorption capacity increased with temperature. Adsorption capacity recovery of FRPM following washing with a zinc solution (1g ZnCl2/L) yielded an adsorption capacity of 120% of the original. A half strength solution (0.5g ZnCl2/L) recovered 110% of the adsorption capacity after the first wash and 80% after the second wash.