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. 2023 Mar 17;13(3):350.
doi: 10.3390/membranes13030350.

Hydrogen Sulphide Sequestration with Metallic Ions in Acidic Media Based on Chitosan/sEPDM/Polypropylene Composites Hollow Fiber Membranes System

Dumitru Pașcu  1 , Aurelia Cristina Nechifor  1 , Vlad-Alexandru Grosu  2 , Ovidiu Cristian Oprea  3 , Szidonia-Katalin Tanczos  4 , Geani Teodor Man  1 , Florina Dumitru  3 , Alexandra Raluca Grosu  1 , Gheorghe Nechifor  1
Affiliations

Hydrogen Sulphide Sequestration with Metallic Ions in Acidic Media Based on Chitosan/sEPDM/Polypropylene Composites Hollow Fiber Membranes System

Dumitru Pașcu et al. Membranes (Basel). .

Abstract

This paper presents the preparation and characterization of composite membranes based on chitosan (Chi), sulfonated ethylene-propylene-diene terpolymer (sEPDM), and polypropylene (PPy), and designed to capture hydrogen sulfide. The Chi/sEPDM/PPy composite membranes were prepared through controlled evaporation of a toluene dispersion layer of Chi:sEPDM 1;1, w/w, deposited by immersion and under a slight vacuum (100 mmHg) on a PPy hollow fiber support. The composite membranes were characterized morphologically, structurally, and thermally, but also from the point of view of their performance in the process of hydrogen sulfide sequestration in an acidic media solution with metallic ion content (Cu2+, Cd2+, Pb2+, and/or Zn2+). The operational parameters of the pertraction were the pH, pM, matrix gas flow rate, and composition. The results of pertraction from synthetic gases mixture (nitrogen, methane, carbon dioxide) indicated an efficient removal of hydrogen sulfide through the prepared composite membranes, as well as its immobilization as sulfides. The sequestration and the recuperative separation, as sulfides from an acid medium, of the hydrogen sulfide reached up to 96%, decreasing in the order: CuS > PbS > CdS > ZnS.

Keywords: chitosan; composite membranes; electronics waste; hydrogen sulphide sequestration; polypropylene hollow fiber membrane; sEPDM.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Schematic presentation of the removal, capture, and sequestration of hydrogen sulfide as metal sulfides or oxidation products: oxides, sulfites, sulfates.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Schematic presentation of the Chi/sEPDM/PPy composite membrane production process: (a) virgin polypropylene hollow fiber membranes; (b) membranes immersed in the chitosan–sEPDM toluene dispersion bath; (c) composite membranes (Chi/sEPDM/PPy).
Figure 3
Figure 3
Schematic presentation of the laboratory installation for hydrogen sulfide sequestration from a gaseous mixture: 1—membrane contactor; 2—composite hollow fiber membranes; 3—pump for metal ions acidic solutions; 4 and 5—gas-liquid separator; 6—homogenization.
Figure 4
Figure 4
Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) images for the Chi/sEPDM/PPy composite membranes: (a) cross-section 400×; (b) cross-section 1000×; (c) wall detail 2000×; (d) wall detail 5000×; (e) inside aspect of wall 4000×; and (f) inside aspect of wall 40,000×.
Figure 5
Figure 5
Top surface scanning electron microscopy (SEM) images for the Chi/sEPDM/PPy composite membranes: (a) 10,000×; (b) 10,000×; (c) 40,000×; and (d) 50,000×.
Figure 5
Figure 5
Top surface scanning electron microscopy (SEM) images for the Chi/sEPDM/PPy composite membranes: (a) 10,000×; (b) 10,000×; (c) 40,000×; and (d) 50,000×.
Figure 6
Figure 6
Energy-dispersive spectroscopy analysis (EDAX) diagram for the membrane materials: sEPDM (a); Chi/sEPDM (b); and elemental maps: sEPDM (c); Chi/sEPDM (d).
Figure 6
Figure 6
Energy-dispersive spectroscopy analysis (EDAX) diagram for the membrane materials: sEPDM (a); Chi/sEPDM (b); and elemental maps: sEPDM (c); Chi/sEPDM (d).
Figure 7
Figure 7
Fourier transform infrared spectra for the composite membranes: sEPDM and Chi/sEPDM composite membrane.
Figure 8
Figure 8
Video-images (a), the 2HD-IR obtained maps at the specific wave number (b–e); and infrared associated spectrum and color scales (f); for Chi/sEPDM composite membrane.
Figure 8
Figure 8
Video-images (a), the 2HD-IR obtained maps at the specific wave number (b–e); and infrared associated spectrum and color scales (f); for Chi/sEPDM composite membrane.
Figure 9
Figure 9
Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) images for the Chi/sEPDM composite membrane: top surface (a); and cross-section (b).
Figure 10
Figure 10
Thermal characteristics of the sEPDM membrane: (a) thermal diagram; (b) 3D complex analysis; (c) 2D complex analysis. (Reprinted from Ref. [55]).
Figure 11
Figure 11
Hydrogen sulfide pertraction efficiency (PE%) vs. pM for 20 ppm H2S in gas mixture: nitrogen (a); methane (b), and carbon dioxide (c).
Figure 12
Figure 12
Hydrogen sulfide pertraction efficiency (PE%) vs. pH for 20 ppm H2S in a gas mixture: nitrogen (a), methane (b), and carbon dioxide (c).
Figure 13
Figure 13
Hydrogen sulfide pertraction efficiency (PE%) vs. hydrogen sulfide concentration in gas mixture: nitrogen (a); methane (b), and carbon dioxide (c).
Figure 14
Figure 14
Hydrogen sulfide pertraction efficiency (PE%) vs. gas flow mixture: nitrogen (a), methane (b), and carbon dioxide (c).
Figure 15
Figure 15
Diagrams of the sulfide metals solubility (S) vs. pH (a); and pS2− vs. pH (within the range of interest) (b).
Figure 16
Figure 16
Schematic mechanism of the hydrogen sulfide sequestration by pertraction with Chi/sEPDM/PPy–CM in acid medium containing metal ions, from synthetic gas mixtures.
Figure 17
Figure 17
Pertraction efficiency (PE%) of Chi/sEPDM/PPy–CM during four weeks of operation in the system (30 ppm H2S, in nitrogen, with a feed flow of 4 L/min and a receiving phase with 10−2 mol/L cadmium ions at pH = 2): (a) SEM image of the membrane at the beginning of the experiment; (b) SEM image of the membrane at the end of the experiment.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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