Porous materials for low-temperature H2S-removal in fuel cell applications

Abstract When fuel gases (H2 and CH4) for fuel cells are produced from fossil fuels and biomass, there is a high possibility of presence of hydrogen sulfide (H2S). Because H2S can poison fuel cells and cause long lasting damage, it is necessary to rigorously remove H2S from fuel gases before use in fuel cells. With the advantages of high efficiency and low energy consumption, desulphurisation via adsorption at low temperatures has attracted the attention of many researchers and has seen recent advances. This review compares the performance of commonly-studied porous materials (metal oxides, activated carbon, zeolites, silica, and metal–organic frameworks (MOF)) that are used for adsorption at low temperatures. Test conditions such as feed gas compositions, feed gas velocity, and breakthrough concentration threshold are considered when comparing the adsorption performance of the materials. High performing materials from each material category are identified and future research directions are discussed.