The role of H2O in the removal of methane mercaptan (CH3SH) on Cu/C-PAN catalyst

Abstract Methane mercaptan (CH3SH) is a common organic sulfur in smelting flue gas, which has significant harm to the environment, industrial production and human health. Therefore, research on the purification of CH3SH has received extensive attention. Herein, we focused on the role of H2O in the removal of CH3SH, and revealed that H2O promotes the adsorption of CH3SH at low temperature and promotes its hydrolysis at high temperature, which significantly improves the removal of CH3SH. In this study, the polyacrylonitrile-based activated carbon fiber was prepared by electrospinning, with the diameter of about 300~400 nm. Cu, Fe and Mn were loaded by impregnation method, and the CH3SH removal efficiency were compared. The combination of characterization results by HR-TEM, XRD, XPS, NH3-TPD and activity evaluation as well as DFT calculation results finally revealed the removal mechanism of CH3SH with the participation of H2O.