Ridding natural gas of sulfur and other impurities means cleaner air, and it is the focus of a project that would take advantage of two technologies developed at ORNL. The goal is to build and demonstrate a low-cost regenerative desulfurizer based on the carbon fiber composite molecular sieve and electrical swing adsorption. Tim Burchell and colleagues first plan to refine and optimize the carbon fiber composite molecular sieve material's structure for adsorption of hydrogen sulfide and organic sulfides found in natural gas. Next, researchers in the lab's Metals and Ceramics Division will conduct dynamic adsorption experiments to evaluate and minimize the extent to which the sieve co-adsorbs other impurities in the gas stream. Provided adequate funding, the data from these experiments will be used to develop and construct a prototype scrubber to be tested by one or more of the Department of Energy's contractors.
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