Chemical Engineering & Technology, Vol.29, No.12, 1455-1460, 2006
Simulation and prediction of methylmercaptan removal by chemical scrubbing with hydrogen peroxide
A model has been developed in order to predict the behavior of methylmercaptan chemical scrubbing using hydrogen peroxide. New constants concerning reactions involving methylmercaptan have been proposed based on mass transfer and kinetic equations for the dissociation of methylmercaptan by the hydroxide and the reaction with perhydroxyl ions. Once this step has been achieved, the model is used to characterize the influences of the different chemical scrubbing operating parameters, i.e., the gas-liquid contact time, the oxidant concentration, and the pH. As expected, an increase in the hydrogen peroxide concentration, the contact time, or the pH leads to an increase in the methylmercaptan removal level. However, the most interesting aspect of the model lies in the possibility of defining a new or limiting value for each parameter, below which the process is not efficient enough to be industrially implemented.