In chemical processes such as natural gas treatment, syngas processing and oil‑gas refining, feed media contain not only hydrogen sulfide, but also organosulfur components including carbonyl sulfide (COS) and carbon disulfide (CS₂). Compared with hydrogen sulfide, organosulfur compounds feature higher chemical stability and cannot be readily removed by conventional desulfurization adsorbents. If organosulfur species flow into downstream processes, they will poison and deactivate subsequent catalysts and shorten unit operation cycles. Meanwhile, they may cause excessive sulfur content in end‑products, exposing enterprises to risks in environmental compliance and product quality. Therefore, organosulfur removal is an indispensable segment of feedstock purification.
Organosulfur hydrolysis is a well‑established industrial technology for treating COS and CS₂. With the catalytic effect, carbonyl sulfide and carbon disulfide react with water present in the system and are converted into hydrogen sulfide which can be easily captured. Hydrogen sulfide is then adsorbed and eliminated by desulfurizers to achieve deep desulfurization. Different from high‑temperature hydrolysis processes, ambient‑temperature hydrolysis performs reactions within 0‑150℃. It eliminates the need for heating feed gas to high temperatures and substantially cuts energy consumption. This technology is especially suitable for gas‑phase and liquid‑phase feed purification where high‑temperature operation is unavailable.
Actual industrial working conditions are complex. Feedstocks vary in sources, covering gas‑phase media such as hydrogen, natural gas and carbon dioxide, as well as liquid‑phase feeds like liquid hydrocarbons and propylene. The catalyst shall deliver high conversion efficiency for organosulfur hydrolysis and tolerate impurities such as chlorides and cyanides entrained in feed streams. Certain impurities occupy active sites and trigger gradual activity decay. Hence the catalyst is required to provide both satisfactory hydrolysis performance and impurity resistance. Physical properties including particle mechanical strength and specific surface area directly determine reactor bed stability, preventing particle breakage, pulverization and abnormal rise of bed pressure drop.
Shandong Xunda Chemical Industrial Group Co., Ltd. has developed ambient‑temperature organosulfur hydrolysis catalyst. Based on activated alumina substrate with specially compounded active components, it delivers excellent organosulfur hydrolysis performance together with partial capacity for chloride and cyanide removal, applicable to feed purification under diverse gas‑phase and liquid‑phase working conditions.
As the chemical industry imposes increasingly strict requirements on feed purity, upstream feed purification acts as the first safeguard to guarantee long‑term stable operation of the whole plant. Featuring low energy consumption and broad condition adaptability, ambient‑temperature organosulfur hydrolysis technology gains growing applications in natural gas, coal chemical and petroleum processing sectors. It helps customers avoid downstream catalyst poisoning risks and reduce overall operation and maintenance costs.