Air-diluted sulfides (up to 1 % H₂S or 0.1 % CH₃SH) were processed in powerful gliding electrical discharges at up to 70 m³(n)/h pilot scale. Experiments were performed in one or four-stage reactors at 1 atm. Each stage contains 3 main electrodes and one ignition electrode. These discharges produce a non-thermal plasma, which activates oxidation reactions. Up to 100 % clean-up was obtained at very low energy costs: 1 kWh of injected energy can remove all sulfur from 20 m³(n) of polluted air independently on initial pollutants' concentration in the range from 1 ppm to 1 %. The process uses a very simple water washing column, which saturates with the produced SO₂ and captures unprocessed H₂S via a wet Claus-like process so that we avoid any SO₂ emission and obtain non-toxic elemental Sulfur as the unique product:

Schematic view of the GlidArc I reactor

Schematic view of the washing tower

Schematic view of the four-stage reactor