Hydrogen sulfide conversion to hydrogen

A process for producing hydrogen from a gas stream comprising hydrogen sulfide or hydrogen sulfide and carbon dioxide, said process comprising:

• a. passing the gas stream to a vertical reactor chamber, wherein the reactor chamber has an outer cylindrical wall defining an interior chamber, said interior chamber including a heating zone, a membrane and a sulfur condenser, said reactor having:
• i. an inlet for introducing the gas stream into the interior chamber;
• ii. the heating zone disposed in the interior chamber to heat said gas stream, said heating zone comprising a catalyst consisting of malachite and a metal having 75% nickel and 25% chromium;
• iii. said membrane being a hydrogen porous ceramic membrane disposed in the interior chamber, said ceramic membrane being permeable to hydrogen gas but impermeable to hydrogen sulfide and sulfur vapor and having a membrane interior defining a flow passageway in communication with a first outlet;
• iv. the sulfur condenser being disposed in the interior chamber below the membrane in fluid communication with a second outlet;
• and
• v. a gas outlet in communication with the interior chamber;
• b. reacting the hydrogen sulfide and optionally the hydrogen sulfide and the carbon dioxide in the heating zone at temperature of from about 400° C. to about 700° C. wherein a conversion of hydrogen sulfide is at least about 95% to provide hydrogen gas and sulfur vapor, and optionally water in the interior chamber;
• c. continuously and immediately removing the hydrogen gas through said membrane to provide hydrogen and withdrawing the hydrogen from the first outlet;
• d. continuously condensing the sulfur vapor in the condensing zone to provide liquid sulfur withdrawing the liquid sulfur from the second outlet;
• and
• e. withdrawing a reactor effluent gas from the interior chamber from the gas outlet, said reactor effluent gas comprising less than about 4.7 ppb hydrogen sulfide.