GB587070A - Improvements in or relating to the removal of oxygen from gases - Google Patents

Abstract

Oxygen is removed from a gas containing free hydrogen by bringing the gas into contact with a catalyst consisting of or containing a subsulphide of nickel or of cobalt and a promoter therefore at a temperature above 50 DEG C. and preferably below 200 DEG C. The promoter must be present in the form of a compound in an amount not exceeding 20 atoms of promoter element to 100 atoms of catalyst metal. Suitable promoters include copper, cadmium, aluminium, molybdenum, tungsten, iron, and cobalt (for nickel-subsulphide) or nickel (for cobalt subsulphide). The catalyst may be supported on clay, activated alumina or active charcoal. The main catalyst metal and the promoter may be co-precipitated in the form of hydrated oxides or carbonates the precipitate being washed, dried, formed into pieces, converted into sulphides by treatment with hydrogen sulphide or with carbon bisulphide vapour at elevated temperature and reduced to subsulphide by reduction with hydrogen or gases containing hydrogen at 300-500 DEG C. Alternatively the co-precipitation may be carried out to yield sulphides which are reduced by hydrogen to subsulphides. Particularly when preparing supported catalysts, the initial salt of the catalyst metal contains both sulphur and oxygen and is reducible at elevated temperature by hydrogen, and the initial salt of the promoter element may be of similar kind, or alternatively an ammonium salt of an acidic oxide or sulphide. According to an example china clay pellets are heated in a boiling aqueous solution containing nickel and copper sulphates, drained, dried, and reduced in a stream of coal gas at 350-400 DEG C. The invention may be employed in the treatment of hydrogen, coal gas or water gas. Specification 530,983 is referred to.