An illustration of the light-powered, one-step removal process for hydrogen sulfide gas enabled by a gold photocatalyst created at Rice University. Credit: Halas Group/Rice University.
” Hydrogen sulfide emissions can result in hefty fines for industry, however remediation is likewise extremely costly,” stated Halas, a nanophotonics leader whose lab has actually spent years establishing commercially practical light-activated nanocatalysts. “The expression game-changer is excessive used, but in this case, it uses. Carrying out plasmonic photocatalysis ought to be far more economical than conventional removal, and it has actually the added potential of transforming a costly concern into a significantly important product.”
Rice Universitys Naomi Halas is an engineer, chemist, physicist, and leader in the field of light-activated nanomaterials. Credit: Jeff Fitlow/Rice University
Each particle of hydrogen sulfide gas (H2S) contains two hydrogen atoms and one sulfur atom. Each molecule of clean-burning hydrogen gas (H2), the primary commodity of the hydrogen economy, contains 2 hydrogen atoms. Halas group sprayed the surface area of grains of silicon dioxide powder with tiny islands of gold in the brand-new study. Each island was a gold nanoparticle 10 billionths of a meter in size that connected strongly with a specific wavelength of noticeable light. These plasmonic responses develop “hot providers,” which are brief, high-energy electrons efficient in driving catalysis.
In the study, Halas and co-authors utilized a laboratory setup and showed a bank of LED lights might produce hot carrier photocatalysis and efficiently convert H2S directly into H2 gas and sulfur. Thats a plain contrast to the recognized catalytic innovation refineries use to break down hydrogen sulfide. Referred to as the Claus procedure, it produces sulfur but no hydrogen, which it instead transforms into water. The Claus process also needs multiple steps, including some that require combustion chambers heated up to about 1,500 degrees Fahrenheit.
The plasmonic hydrogen sulfide removal technology has been accredited by Syzygy Plasmonics, a Houston-based startup company with more than 60 workers, whose co-founders consist of Halas and Nordlander.
Halas said the remediation process could end up having low enough application expenses and high adequate performance to end up being economical for cleaning up nonindustrial hydrogen sulfide from sources like sewer gas and animal wastes.
” Given that it requires only noticeable light and no external heating, the process ought to be relatively simple to scale up using renewable solar energy or extremely efficient solid-state LED lighting,” she stated.
Recommendation: “Direct H2S Decomposition by Plasmonic Photocatalysis: Efficient Remediation plus Sustainable Hydrogen Production” by Minghe Lou, Junwei Lucas Bao, Linan Zhou, Gopal Narmada Naidu, Hossein Robatjazi, Aaron I. Bayles, Henry O. Everitt, Peter Nordlander, Emily A. Carter and Naomi J. Halas, 30 September 2022, ACS Energy Letters.DOI: 10.1021/ acsenergylett.2 c01755.
The study was moneyed by the Welch Foundation, the Air Force Office of Scientific Research, and the Defense Threat Reduction Agency..
On October 3, Halas and Nordlander existed the prestigious 2022 Eni Energy Transition Award in acknowledgment of their efforts to establish efficient light-powered catalysts for industrial-scale hydrogen production.
Halas is Rices Stanley C. Moore Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering and a teacher of chemistry, astronomy, physics and bioengineering, and materials science and nanoengineering. Carter is Princetons Gerhard R. Andlinger Professor in Energy and Environment at the Andlinger Center for Energy and the Environment, senior strategic consultant for sustainability science at the Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory, and professor of aerospace and mechanical engineering and of used and computational mathematics.
Naomi Halas, a Rice physicist, chemist, and engineer, and colleagues describe a procedure that uses gold nanoparticles to transform hydrogen sulfide into sulfur and high-demand hydrogen gas in a single action in a research study that was recently released in the journal ACS Energy Letters.” Hydrogen sulfide emissions can result in large fines for market, however remediation is likewise very expensive,” said Halas, a nanophotonics pioneer whose lab has actually invested years establishing commercially viable light-activated nanocatalysts. Each molecule of hydrogen sulfide gas (H2S) consists of two hydrogen atoms and one sulfur atom. Each particle of clean-burning hydrogen gas (H2), the main product of the hydrogen economy, includes 2 hydrogen atoms. Known as the Claus procedure, it produces sulfur but no hydrogen, which it instead converts into water.
Another benefit is that light is the only source of energy used in the one-step procedure.
A catalyst triggered by light converts hydrogen sulfide into hydrogen energy in one step.
Engineers and researchers at Rice University have actually established a sweet method for petrochemical refineries to change a stinky byproduct into cash.
Hydrogen sulfide gas has the unique smell of rotting eggs. It often emanates from land fills, stockyards, and drains, however it is especially troublesome for refineries, petrochemical plants, and other markets. Thousands of lots of the noxious gas are produced every year as a byproduct of procedures that remove sulfur from petroleum, gas, coal, and other products in these locations.
Naomi Halas, a Rice physicist, engineer, and chemist, and colleagues explain a procedure that uses gold nanoparticles to transform hydrogen sulfide into sulfur and high-demand hydrogen gas in a single action in a study that was recently published in the journal ACS Energy Letters. Even better, the one-step process only requires light as its source of energy. Co-authors of the research study consist of Hossein Robatjazi of Syzygy Plasmonics, Emily Carter of Princeton University, and Peter Nordlander of Rice University