H2S–CO2 gas separation with ionic liquids on low ratio of H2S/CO2

Acid gas removal, especially H2S and CO2, is an essential process in natural gas processing. In this research, 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium bromide [bmim][Br] ionic liquid was analyzed as a hydrophobic solvent with has high selectivity to H2S as an environmentally friendly solvent to absorb acid gas from natural gas with low H2S/CO2 concentration in ambient temperature and pressure. The absorption performance of pure [bmim][Br] ionic liquid was compared with various amine solutions, such as monoethanolamine (MEA), triethanolamine (TEA), and methyldiethanolamine (MDEA), as well as the mixture of [bmim][Br]-MDEA with various concentration. As a result, pure [bmim][Br] ionic liquid had high selectivity to H2S compared with conventional amine solutions. In addition, the mixture of [bmim][Br]-MDEA with the mass ratio of 1:3 provided the highest H2S/CO2 selectivity of 6.2 in certain absorption conditions due to free tertiary amine attached in the cations of ionic liquids that can attract more H2S to its functional site.