Preparation of steam activated carbon from black liquor by flue gas precipitation and its performance in hydrogen sulfide removal: Experimental and simulation works

Activated carbon was prepared from black liquor by steam activation. The BET specific surface area, pore volume and average pore diameter of resultant carbon activated at 900 °C can reach 1010 m²/g, 0.65 m³/g and 3 nm respectively. The relative humidity contributes to the adsorption of H₂S on carbon, while the increased adsorption temperature and inlet concentration show an unfavorable condition for adsorption. Kinetic model yield a satisfactory result in parameters estimation and prediction for breakthrough time with different inlet H₂S concentrations. The surface diffusion is significant to the effective diffusivity during mass transfer under experimental condition. The dynamic experimental results indicate a good performance in H₂S removal.