Hydrogen sulfide, H₂S, is the main byproduct of oil and gas processing, hydrometallurgy, coal gasification, etc. The reserves of hydrogen sulfide in the Earth bowels and water bodies measured in billions of tons, while the annual H₂S production in the extractive and processing industries is estimated to be of tens of millions of tons. Simultaneously, hydrogen sulfide is a strong poison, dangerous for the environment and humanity. Due to the high toxicity the exhaust gases of all industrial manufactures must be free of hydrogen sulfide to the level of sanitary norms. These recycling processes are implemented worldwide by the Claus method, discovered in the 19th century, resulting in water and solid sulfur recovery as final products. Thus, hydrogen, as a constituent element of H₂S, is irreversibly “lost” in the form of water, thereby eliminating the possibility of its use as a clean fuel. All processes of H₂S utilization require high temperatures (up to 1000°C), they are very energy-intensive, and therefore costly.

However, now we found a solution that allows not only to recycle the hydrogen sulfide to the required sanitary standards without the use of energy-intensive technologies, but also to produce hydrogen as a target product. The uniqueness of the new solution is that thanks to the catalysts, their role becomes clear, on the surface of which chemical reactions are carried out, which are impossible in the gas phase in the absence of catalysts. Within the framework of non-equilibrium thermodynamics, we have developed the concept on the crucial role of catalysts in the process of low-temperature decomposition of hydrogen sulfide

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The application of this discovery in the extractive and processing industries can, without exaggeration, be called a technological breakthrough. Implementation of the low temperature catalytic utilization of hydrogen sulfide will allow companies not only to modernize technologies under high environmental requirements and reduce costs, but also to obtain an additional target product – hydrogen, a generally recognized clean fuel of the future.

The process was discovered by me in the Boreskov Institute of Catalysis (Novosibirsk, Russia) and some methods of its implementation are patented. The main provisions of the process are described in publications in the scientific journals. Currently, the technology is at an early stage of development. Bringing method to the stage of full technological cycle requires a financial investment.

As the author of the method, I am ready for cooperation with the oil and gas processing companies interested in modernization of their enterprises, with the aim of developing all necessary components of the technological chain and implementation of production.

The materials on this website may be useful to scientists, teachers and students – anyone who interested both in the problems of disposal of hydrogen sulfide and in the properties of gaseous diatomic sulfur in the ground triplet state which was obtained for the first time as an unusual allotrope of elemental sulfur stable under the normal conditions. For its part, I am ready to act as a consultant or guest lecturer at seminars and conferences on these issues and to answer any questions about the process of low-temperature catalytic decomposition of hydrogen sulfide.

My coordinates are specified in the section “Contacts”.

Startsev A. N., doctor of chemical sciences