Process and system for generating a hydrogen product from hydrogen sulfide with microwave energy

A process for generating a hydrogen product from a feed gas stream comprising hydrogen sulfide, comprising the following steps:

• (a) thermally decomposing hydrogen sulfide present in the feed gas stream into hydrogen gas and elemental sulfur in a thermal decomposition unit, the thermal decomposition unit comprising a reactor vessel with a porous susceptor disposed and retained therein and a microwave generation unit positioned and configured to deliver microwave energy to the porous susceptor, wherein thermally decomposing hydrogen sulfide in the thermal decomposition unit comprises:
• (i) directing microwave energy from the microwave generation unit into the porous susceptor to raise the temperature of the porous susceptor to greater than 1,000° C.,
• (ii) feeding the hydrogen sulfide present in the feed gas stream into the thermal decomposition unit via a gas inlet,
• (iii) passing the hydrogen sulfide through the porous susceptor to thermally decompose the hydrogen sulfide and generate a thermal decomposition unit effluent comprising hydrogen gas and elemental sulfur, and
• (iv) exhausting the thermal decomposition unit effluent from the thermal decomposition unit via a gas outlet;
• (b) separating the thermal decomposition unit effluent into a sulfur fraction, a hydrogen rich fraction, and a hydrogen sulfide fraction, wherein the hydrogen rich fraction is comprised of at least 90% by volume hydrogen gas, the hydrogen sulfide fraction comprises unreacted hydrogen sulfide in the thermal decomposition unit effluent, and the sulfur fraction comprises sulfur produced from the splitting of the hydrogen sulfide, and wherein the sulfur fraction is separated from the thermal decomposition unit effluent with two-phase separation in which the sulfur fraction is converted to a liquid phase by cooling the thermal decomposition unit effluent to allow separation of the sulfur fraction in the liquid phase from a gaseous phase comprising the hydrogen rich fraction and the hydrogen sulfide fraction;
• and
• (c) obtaining the hydrogen product from the hydrogen rich fraction, wherein the hydrogen product is comprised of at least 95% by volume hydrogen gas.