INOR 601 |
| Hot sulfide polluted brines are commonly encountered in drilling wells for the production of oil and gas and for the recovery of geothermal energy. Sulfide ions also pollute many natural water bodies and industrial waste water streams coming out of industries such as pulp and paper, tanneries, mineral leaching, etc. The technology in the oil industry is to use H2S scavengers such as iron and zinc oxides and chromates to oxidize or precipitate the sulfide ions. This entails heavy cost on the economics of the process and also on the environment. Electrochemical oxidation utilizes electrons to achieve this objective and hence can provide the basis for an environmentally sound process. Electrochemical oxidation at ambient temperatures using graphite electrodes leads to the formation of elemental sulfur which passivates the electrode and hence lowers the rate of the process. We present results of electrochemical oxidation of sulfide polluted brines at temperatures above the melting point of sulfur, which is well above 100C to find out whether and how much this can alleviate the passivating effects of sulfur and hence increase the rate of the process. Measurements were performed in a specially designed autoclave using various electrochemical techniques. Acknowledgments:The authors acknowledge the support of this work by the Research Administration of Kuwait University,Grant Numbers SC04/04 and GS01/01. |
|
Inorganic Electrochemistry
7:00 PM-10:00 PM, Tuesday, August 21, 2007 BCEC -- Exhibit Hall - B2, Poster
Division of Inorganic Chemistry |