Utilization of electric arc furnace dust as regenerable sorbents for the removal of hydrogen sulfide

The possibility of using electric arc furnace dust (EAFD) as regenerable sorbents to adsorptive hydrogen sulfide was studied. To avoid the releasing of zinc vapor and leaching of heavy metal matter, the addition of Al2O3 was used as inert stabilizer to suppress the volatilization of zinc vapor and generate a more stable chemical forms in EAFD. The results of redox behavior and toxicity characteristic leaching procedure show that Al2O3 are excellent stabilizers for EAFD of industrial waste. Multi-cycle tests of sulfidation/regeneration showed that the prepared EAFD/Al2O3 sorbents can be regenerated and thus reused after the regeneration process. After ten sulfidation/regeneration cycles, the sulfur capacity of the tenth cycle remained approximately on a level of 79% of the sulfur capacity in the first cycle. The results based on the material characterization and sulfidation/regeneration performance evaluation showed that EAFD/Al2O3 sorbent has desirable physical and chemical properties for the desulfurization of simulated syngas at high-Temperature range. Therefore, EAFD with addition of Al2O3 has a potential utilization for the removal of hydrogen sulfide.