Electric arc furnace
dust (EAFD) is a high-volume steel manufacturing
byproduct with currently limited value-added applications. EAFD contains
metal oxides that can react with H
2
S to form stable sulfides.
Hence, the valorization potential of EAFD as an adsorbent material
for syngas H
2
S removal was investigated. EAFD from European
steel plants was characterized and tested in dynamic H
2
S breakthrough tests and benchmarked against a commercial ZnO-based
adsorbent. For this, the EAFD was first processed into adsorbents
by simple milling and granulation steps. The EAFD samples exhibited
sulfur capture capacities at 400 °C and an SV of 17,000 h
–1
that correlated with the sample milling times and
Zn concentrations. It was verified that only zinc participated in
sulfur capture. Yet, both ZnO and the zinc in ZnFe
2
O
4
were found to be active in sulfidation. At higher temperatures
(500 and 600 °C), EAFD sample performance drastically improved
and even exceeded the reference zinc oxide performance. The high-zinc
(48% by mass) EAFD-B sample exhibited the highest tested performance
at 500 °C, with a sulfur capture capacity of 234 mg g
–1
. The results indicate that sufficiently high-zinc-content EAFD could
serve as a viable sulfur capture material.
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