Another benefit is that light is the only source of energy used in the one-step process.
A catalyst activated by light converts hydrogen sulfide into hydrogen energy in one step.
Engineers and scientists at Rice University have developed a sweet way for petrochemical refineries to transform a smelly byproduct into cash.
Hydrogen sulfide gas has the distinct odor of rotting eggs. It frequently emanates from sewers, stockyards, and landfills, but it is especially problematic for refineries, petrochemical plants, and other industries. Thousands of tons of the noxious gas are produced annually as a byproduct of processes that remove sulfur from petroleum, natural gas, coal, and other products in these places.
Naomi Halas, a Rice engineer, physicist, and chemist, and colleagues describe a process that uses gold nanoparticles to convert hydrogen sulfide into sulfur and high-demand hydrogen gas in a single step in a study that was recently published in the journal ACS Energy Letters. Even better, the one-step process only needs light as its source of energy. Co-authors of the study include Hossein Robatjazi of Syzygy Plasmonics, Emily Carter of Princeton University, and Peter Nordlander of Rice University.
An illustration of the light-powered, one-step remediation process for hydrogen sulfide gas made possible by a gold photocatalyst created at Rice University. Credit: Halas Group/Rice University
“Hydrogen sulfide emissions can result in hefty fines for industry, but remediation is also very expensive,” said Halas, a nanophotonics pioneer whose lab has spent years developing commercially viable light-activated nanocatalysts. “The phrase ‘game-changer’ is overused, but in this case, it applies. Implementing plasmonic photocatalysis should be far less expensive than traditional remediation, and it has the added potential of transforming a costly burden into an increasingly valuable commodity.”
Rice University’s Naomi Halas is an engineer, chemist, physicist, and pioneer in the field of light-activated nanomaterials. Credit: Jeff Fitlow/Rice University
Each molecule of hydrogen sulfide gas (H2S) contains two hydrogen atoms and one sulfur DOI: 10.1021/acsenergylett.2c01755
The study was funded by the Welch Foundation, the Air Force Office of Scientific Research, and the Defense Threat Reduction Agency.
On October 3, Halas and Nordlander were presented the prestigious 2022 Eni Energy Transition Award in recognition of their efforts to develop efficient light-powered catalysts for industrial-scale hydrogen production.
Halas is Rice’s Stanley C. Moore Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering and a professor of chemistry, bioengineering, physics and astronomy, and materials science and nanoengineering. Nordlander is Rice’s Wiess Chair and Professor of Physics and Astronomy, and professor of electrical and computer engineering, and materials science and nanoengineering. Carter is Princeton’s Gerhard R. Andlinger Professor in Energy and Environment at the Andlinger Center for Energy and the Environment, senior strategic advisor for sustainability science at the Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory, and professor of mechanical and aerospace engineering and of applied and computational mathematics. Robatjazi is chief scientist at Syzygy Plasmonics and an adjunct professor of chemistry at Rice.
