The catalytic incineration of ethyl mercaptan over a MnO/Fe2O3 catalyst

The catalytic incineration of ethyl mercaptan over a MnO/Fe2O3 fixed bed catalytic reactor was studied. The effects of operating parameters including inlet temperature, space velocity, C2H5SH concentration and O-2 concentration were characterized. Three kinetic models, such as power-rate law, the Mars and Van Krevelen model and the Langmuir-Hinshelwood model were used to analyze the results. A differential reactor design was used for best fit of kinetic models in this study. The results showed that the conversion of ethyl mercaptan was increased with an increase in the inlet temperature and a decrease in the space velocity. The conversion was lower at the higher concentration of ethyl mercaptan. The O-2 concentration had a positive effect on the conversion of ethyl mercaptan. C2H5SH had a poisoning effect on the MnO/Fe2O3 catalyst, especially at a lower temperature. The Langmuir-Hinshelwood model may be feasible to describe the catalytic incineration of C2H5SH. This suggests that the chemical adsorption of O-2 molecule is important in the process of catalytic incineration of C2H5SH.