LAUSR

ABSTRACT Hydrogen sulfide is a major contaminant that is expelled into the atmosphere by chemical industry. So, the mechanism for absorption of sulfur from sour gas by carbon nano-tubes in a packed bed under a magnetic field is considered, in this paper. Therefore, empirical and theoretical studies have been done to obtain the sulfur content in the outlet gas stream. The independent variables studied in this paper include: the magnetic field (1.5 amperes), initial sulfur content (0, 0.003, 0.008, 0.013, 0.05 and 0.1 mole/m3) and gas temperature (33°C, 37°C and 40°C). The gas flow rate is (0.18, 0.2 and 0.22 m3/min). The minimum amount of hydrogen sulfide in the output stream is selected as the aim of the experiments and related conditions as optimal operating conditions. Results indicate that the sulfur oxidation curves contains an approximately linearly increasing segment when the applied field intensity increases from 90 to 160 Oe, and that the sulfur oxidation percentage is improved by nearly 5.8% when the magnetic field is increased from 90 to 400 Oe. Obtained results state the optimum flow rate and temperature for maximum desulfurization is 0.22 m3/min and 40°C, respectively. Results show, the increase in the initial concentration under the operating temperature and magnetic field increases the effective mass transfer coefficient from 2.2–8.3. In addition the effective mass flux of hydrogen sulfide removal can be extended to 5.9, in this state. Finally, the experimental results have a fairly good fit with theoretical results. GRAPHICAL ABSTRACT