ELECTROCHEMICAL REMOVAL OF HYDROGEN SULFIDE FROM GEOTHERMAL BRINES

摘要

Hydrogen sulfide contaminates the geothermal brines that are encountered in the drilling of wells. It promotes the corrosion of the drilling equipment, pipelines, vessels, etc, forms sulfide scales which plug tubulars and degrades the quality of the produced oil. Control of H_2S in oil production involves use of scavengers at doses of some kg/barrel. A particular field may require hundreds of tons of scavengers per month. In addition to the cost and environmental impact of these chemicals, this remedy is only temporary. This work aims to study the feasibility of electrochemical removal of H_2S from such brines by anodic oxidation. Using various electrochemical and surface characterization techniques, it was possible to anodically oxide the sulfide ions dissolved in NaCl brines to elemental sulfur at graphite electrodes.