Performance assessment of activated carbon thermally modified with iron in the desulfurization of biogas in a static batch system supported by headspace gas chromatography

A static batch arrangement composed of anti-leak vials coupled to gas chromatography is proposed as a complementary system for performance assessment of biogas desulfurization by adsorption. For testing, a modified commercial activated carbon produced by controlled thermal treatment in the presence of iron(III) species improved biogas desulfurization. The adsorbents showed a superior hydrogen sulfide removal compared to ordinary one. Pseudo-first-order, pseudo-second-order, and Bangham’s kinetic models were used to fit experimental data. All studied samples followed pseudo-first-order model, indicating the predominance of physisorption, and Bangham’s model, confirming that the micropores structure played an important role for gases diffusion and adsorbent capacity. Additionally, the materials were characterized by N2 adsorption–desorption, X-ray diffraction, infrared spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy and energy-dispersive spectroscopy. The thermal treatment associated with iron impregnation caused significant modifications in the surface of the materials, and the iron species showed two main benefits: an expressive increase in the specific area and the formation of specific adsorption sites for hydrogen sulfide removal. The results reinforce the advantages of iron-modified adsorbents in relation to their non-modified counterparts. The analytical methodology based on the confinement of multiple gases contributes to improving the understanding of the hydrogen sulfide adsorption process using pressure swing adsorption technology.