Technical Papers
Killing Pathogens in Wastewater
Comparing Chlorine Dioxide and the SULFUR MAGNET® MULTIFUNCTIONAL MEDIA®
BOTH KILL: Bacteria, Funguses, Parasites, and Viruses on contact
CHLORINE DIOXIDE (ClO2) is a highly reactive yellow-green gas that cannot be transported due to health, safety, and environmental concerns; it must be generated at the point of use. It is highly toxic to humans, animals, and pollinators. While effective for disinfection, chlorine dioxide forms byproducts like chlorite and chlorate, which pose health risks. Chlorine dioxide has a short effective lifespan (minutes) and poses an explosion hazard since it decomposes quickly in sunlight or with organic materials. It is ineffective against odors in water and is a single-use material. Chlorine dioxide's hazards - ranging from acute irritation and toxicity to chronic developmental and potential carcinogenic effects - and limited effectiveness in cleaning water, outweigh its benefits.
SULFUR MAGNET® MULTIFUNCTIONAL MEDIA® is a highly porous granular media that has no DOT restrictions on transporting the virgin or spent media because it is not flammable, 100% VOC free, insoluble in water, and can be handled with only gloves and dust masks. It has the capacity to absorb roughly half its weight in noxious chemicals and a great tenacity for removing odors from water, unlike activated carbon that easily releases the trapped odors. Since the SULFUR MAGNET® does not decompose upon use, it can be used repeatedly without being replaced, and its active lifespan is measured in years, not minutes, when used in water with a pH of 6 or higher.
Solid Oxide Fuel Cell Testing - A Game Changer for Fuel Cells
Standard H2 has developed a revolutionary, patented system called the SULFUR MAGNET® that removes sulfur from gas streams to concentrations below 1 ppb. This breakthrough technology is a game-changer for gas cleaning needs for any process where sulfur poisoning occurs, such as fuel cells and catalysts, as well as for general air-purification systems. A recent demonstration using a commercially relevant fuel cell system shows its startling impact on fuel cell performance, which will be a welcome relief to the fuel cell industry.
A study was conducted by solid oxide fuel cell developer Nexceris that dramatically shows the ability of the SULFUR MAGNET® to improve fuel cell performance. The experimental results presented in the Figure on page 2 show that with a fuel containing 10 ppm H2S, the SULFUR MAGNET® was able to remove the sulfur such that the performance of the cell matched its performance with the high-purity H2 feed. The experiment was conducted as follows:
An anode-supported Nexceris fuel cell was tested at 700 °C with a high-purity hydrogen feed at a current density of 0.5 A/cm2. After a few hours, the cell came to a steady state voltage of 0.836 volts. The cell was operated under pure H2 with negligible degradation (25 mV/1000 hours) for an additional 15 hours to establish the baseline.
At the 20-hour on-stream mark, the hydrogen feed was directed through a cartridge of the SULFUR MAGNET® before entering the fuel cell. No change in performance was observed as the voltage was steady at 0.835 volts.
The feed was then switched to one containing 10 ppm of H2S in hydrogen that was passed through the SULFUR MAGNET® before it entered the fuel cell. The results are nothing short of remarkable.
After about 80 minutes of conditioning during which the cell voltage dropped to as low as 0.826 volts, the performance almost magically rose not merely to the previous steady state level of 0.835 volts, but to a maximum of 0.838 volts. The cell with a sulfur-containing feed that had been scrubbed with the SULFUR MAGNET® was outperforming the cell with what was believed to be pure hydrogen.
The cell was operated for an additional 15 hours under conditions of 10 ppm H2S in H2 cleaned by the SULFUR MAGNET®. During this time, the degradation of performance was about 44 mV/1000 hours, nearly the same as that measured for the pure H2 during the baseline.
Finally, the SULFUR MAGNET® was removed from the system, and the unfiltered sulfur-containing H2 feed was admitted to the fuel cell. A rapid decline in the cell voltage was noted, and after about 3 hours, the cell performance had declined to 0.748 volts, where it appeared to approach a new steady state.
Figure 1. Fuel cell performance showing the effect of adding the Sulfur Magnet to scrub H2S from the H2 feed. Courtesy Nexceris.
As demonstrated in this test, the SULFUR MAGNET® provides a point-of-use system to remove H2S from hydrogen from any source, since even H2 produced by water electrolysis picks up trace contaminants during handling on its journey through pipes and regulators. A small cartridge placed immediately upstream of a fuel cell or other device can protect it from sulfur contamination for many thousands of hours, depending on the level of sulfur in the gas and the gas flow rate.
Work at Standard H2 continues to evaluate other uses of the SULFUR MAGNET® for the removal of trace contaminants from gas and liquid streams. For sulfur removal, the global market for solid adsorbents like the SULFUR MAGNET® is estimated at over $600 million, with about $100 million related to fuel cells. Other applications include protective masks, semiconductor manufacturing, and catalyst guard beds.
General Solution Overview
- Cleaning hydrogen to remove the volatile sulfur compounds that ruin the efficiency and shorten the lifetime of H2 Fuel Cells by reducing the sulfur concentration to below 1 ppb .
- Removing the oxides of nitrogen, H2S, etc. from air and the air intake side of the fuel cell.
- Cleaning natural gas to remove H2S and thiols that corrode boilers, heat exchangers, etc.
- Cleaning biogas for renewable natural gas.
- Trapping NOx at high temperatures such as in diesel exhaust (400+C) or power plant flue gas (700+ C)
- Catalyst guard bed protection.
- Cleansing the bottled gases used in labs and high-tech instruments.
- Cleansing the gases used during computer chip manufacture, etc.
- Cleansing water to remove H2S and other contaminants for H2 electrolysis.
- Cleaning potable and waste water by removing H2S, forever chemicals, etc.
- Odor removal from arenas and breeding facilities of show animals.
- Gas masks to remove H2S, NOx, halides, foul odors (skunk, etc.).
Here’s why sulfur elimination is our specialty:
SAE J2719:2020 “Hydrogen Fuel Quality for Fuel Cell Vehicles” sets the standard. For volatile sulfur compounds the maximum concentration is 4 ppb, the lowest of all contaminations because the 100% correlation between the concentration of catalyst poisoning sulfur and the lifetime and efficiency of the catalyst.1 This US Standard is very similar to the EU standard.
There is a direct negative relationship between sulfur content in hydrogen (H2) and the lifetime of a catalyst; higher sulfur content in the hydrogen significantly reduces the lifespan of a catalyst due to a phenomenon called "sulfur poisoning," where sulfur compounds bind to the active sites of the catalyst, inhibiting its ability to facilitate reactions effectively.
Key points about sulfur poisoning and mitigation:
- Mechanism:
Sulfur-containing molecules like hydrogen sulfide (H2S) readily adsorb onto the active sites of a catalyst, blocking other reactants from accessing those sites and hindering the catalytic process. Even small amounts of sulfur can significantly decrease the activity and selectivity of a catalyst, leading to a decline in product yield. - Feedstock purification:
Removing sulfur compounds from the hydrogen feedstock before it reaches the catalyst is the most effective way to prevent sulfur poisoning.
Hydrogen is the Solution to Global Climate Change: This is the Missing Link to the Hydrogen Economy
THE FACT IS: THERE IS NO SHORTAGE OF HYDROGEN, PRICE IS THE PROBLEM
#1 Steam Methane Reforming, SMR, accounts for roughly 95% of H2 production and is, by far, the least expensive way to mass-produce hydrogen with no or minimal production of CO2. For decades, hydrocarbon refiners have produced hydrogen for sweetening crude oil, and to make inexpensive commodity chemicals like ammonia and urea. Fuel Cells are the backbone of the hydrogen economy and require much cleaner hydrogen with the lowest possible sulfur content.
#2 Hydrogen Fuel Cells efficiently convert hydrogen and oxygen into electricity and clean water, but the catalysts used in H2 Fuel Cells are expensive and very easily damaged by hydrogen sulfide, H2S, and other volatile sulfur compounds in the hydrogen. Sulfur impurities greatly reduce the lifetime and efficiency of H2 Fuel Cells; reducing the impurities by half will double the lifetime, and a 75% reduction will quadruple the lifetime, etc. for a HUGE impact on ROI and CO2 avoidance.
#3 Current H2 standards are lax because no inexpensive sorbent is currently available to purify the hydrogen below the EU standard of 4 ppb sulfur content in the H2 at the pumping station . The US goal is 1 ppb maximum sulfur content. EVEN WORSE, as H2 sits in the storage tank and as it travels through the pipes to the fuel cell, it can pick up impurities so that when it reaches the fuel cell it will not be as pure as when it was put in the storage tank. For a similar reason, fuel filters are always used just before the engine on conventional vehicles. FUEL CELLS NEED SIMILAR PROTECTION!
HERE’S THE SOLUTION: CLEAN low grade HYDROGEN to LOWER THE PRICE and MAGNIFY ROI STANDARD H2, INC. HAS THE MISSING LINK: The SULFUR MAGNET® can reduce sulfur to below 200 ppt from any source of hydrogen. The H2 FINAL FILTER® contains the SULFUR MAGNET®, the most powerful inexpensive sulfur sorbent known to remove the catalyst killing sulfur compounds with its tenacious and high-capacity composition of non-toxic non-water-soluble granules. Use this to reduce the sulfur content to below 1 ppb and place it just before the fuel cell intake to MAGNIFY the ROI of H2 Fuel Cell ownership! Perhaps even better, the SULFUR MAGNET® is transported with no DOT restrictions for the virgin or spent media, and the media is regenerable, easily recycled, or can be land-filled with no fear of contamination because the SULFUR MAGNET® is not a combustible sponge like activated carbon, it is a stable chemical trap.
Composed by: James Wasas, Chief Science Officer
Pure Electrolytic Hydrogen with the SULFUR MAGNET® and the H2 FINAL FILTER®
H2 Fuel Cells rely on ultra-high purity hydrogen for efficient operation and long life for a high ROI. The catalysts used in fuel cells are expensive and easily damaged by volatile sulfur compounds such as hydrogen sulfide (H2S). Unfortunately, the current paradigm uses electrolysis to produce hydrogen with by-product H2S that can contaminate the integrity of the H2 Fuel Cell, which reduces their efficiency and total lifetime.
Make electrolytic hydrogen pure the easy way using as SULFUR MAGNET® water filter to remove sulfur from the water input to the cell and a H2 FINAL FILTER® filled with the SULFUR MAGNET® placed on the electrolytic cell’s output H2 line. The SULFUR MAGNET® is the most tenacious, inexpensive, non-toxic sulfur sorbent for cleaning water, hydrogen, and other fluids. An independent third party found it reduced H2S from 1.902 ppm to under 200 ppt, the limit of detection. This is much cleaner than the current World standard of 4 ppb and would dramatically raise the ROI of H2 Fuel Cell ownership.
Reducing the sulfur content to 1 ppb would quadruple the efficiency and lifetime of the fuel cell. Hydrogen is the CO2 avoidance solution to stop global climate change and Standard H2, Inc. has the inexpensive solution to make the highest purity hydrogen from any source.
The SULFUR MAGNET® is available for removing volatile sulfur compounds from most gases and most liquids. Please refer to the SDS for additional details.
What Makes the SULFUR MAGNET®MULTIFUNCTIONAL MEDIA™ So Special?
The SULFUR MAGNET® MULTIFUNCTIONAL MEDIA™ was created to remove even the slightest traces of hydrogen sulfide (H2S) from hydrogen and natural gas, in order to prevent damage to catalysts and other equipment. However, further testing revealed that this product is also an excellent solution for eliminating foul odors, even that of H2S, in liquid applications such as water. The R&D team at H2 FINAL FILTER, Inc. has specially formulated THE SULFUR MAGNET® MULTIFUNCTIONAL MEDIA™ to effectively remove odors and other common chemicals that are often present in municipal and well water, leaving your water clean and fresh. The water-targeted formula of THE SULFUR MAGNET® MULTIFUNCTIONAL MEDIA™ used in this product offers the following additional features:
- 100% organic compound free
- Approximately 80X more effective than the best activated carbon for H2S removal
- Anti-microbial and Anti-fungal
- Effective for reducing chlorine, bromine, fluorine, and iodine
- Unaffected by freezing temperatures, humidity, and high heat over 500°F
- Insoluble in water
- Suitable for landfill disposal
- Recyclable & Regenerable for reuse
Effective for eliminating unpleasant odors, such as those from skunks, urine, ammonia, and many other sources.
Additional Applications:
- Waste Water Treatment and Mining Water Runoff
- Effectively reduce cyanide contamination
- Liquid odor control: Remove unpleasant odors in water runoff
- Capable in a broad range of pH from 6 - 10.5
- Unaffected by extreme temperatures
- Safe for the environment
- Locks contaminants absorbed tightly and is safe for bulk transportation once “spent”
Composed by: James Wasas, Chief Science Officer
Expand Your Return on Investment (ROI) with the H2 FINAL FILTER®
H2 Fuel Cells rely on efficient operation and ultra-high purity hydrogen for a high ROI. Catalysts used in fuel cells are expensive and easily damaged by volatile sulfur compounds such as hydrogen sulfide (H2S). Unfortunately, the current paradigm uses electrolysis to produce hydrogen with by-products that can contaminate the integrity of the H2 Fuel Cell, which reduces their total lifetime.
H2 Final Filter, Inc. manufactures the SULFUR MAGNET® and recommends using a H2 FINAL FILTER® placed in-line and as close as possible to the fuel intake to remove impurities in the fuel gas, the fuel line, and the fuel tank. Petroleum-powered vehicles have fuel filters located just before the motor for the same reason.
Fortunately, the SULFUR MAGNET® is the most tenacious sorbent of contaminants for cleaning hydrogen and other fluids. An independent third party found it reduced H2S from 1.902 ppm to under 200 ppt, the limit of detection. This is much cleaner than the current World standard of 4 ppb and would dramatically raise the ROI of H2 Fuel Cell ownership.
Hydrogen is the solution to stop global climate change via CO2 avoidance. And Standard H2 , Inc. has the inexpensive solution to make the highest purity hydrogen from water and methane without CO2 production.
Decarbonization by Steam Methane Reforming and the SULFUR MAGNET®
Hydrogen is the solution to stop global climate change via CO2 avoidance. Standard H2 , Inc. has the inexpensive solution to make the highest purity hydrogen from water & methane without CO2 production.
The hydrocarbon refining industry already makes the most hydrogen and does it cheaply by reacting H2O (water) with CH4 (methane) making 3 molecules of H2 and one of CO. This process known as Steam Reforming, or the Steam Methane Reforming (SMR) process makes no CO2. This is not high-grade H2 because their need is to hydrogenate crude oil, make urea, and make ammonia, which do not require pure H2.
However, they could produce vast amounts of ultra-high purity hydrogen by using the SULFUR MAGNET® to polish their production of H2. With the largest methane reserve in the World, the USA could easily become the World’s #1 source for clean hydrogen.
H2 Fuel Cells rely on efficient operation and ultra-high purity hydrogen for a high ROI. Catalysts used in fuel cells are expensive and easily damaged by volatile sulfur compounds such as hydrogen sulfide (H2S). Unfortunately, the current paradigm uses electrolysis to produce hydrogen with by-products that can contaminate the integrity of the H2 Fuel Cell which reduces their total lifetime.
Fortunately, the SULFUR MAGNET® is the most tenacious absorbent of contaminants for cleaning hydrogen and other fluids. An independent third party found it reduced H2S from 1.902 ppm to under 200 ppt, the limit of detection. This is much cleaner than the current World standard of 4 ppb and would dramatically raise the ROI of H2 Fuel Cell ownership.
What is Steam Methane Reforming (SMR)?
SMR is the primary method for hydrogen production in the U.S. The process uses high-temperature steam to convert methane, typically from natural gas, into hydrogen, carbon monoxide, and a small amount of carbon dioxide.
CH4 + H2O → CO + 3H2
The hydrocarbon refining industry already uses SMR to generate unpure H2. However, implementing the SULFUR MAGNET® into our industries would generate pure H2. With the largest methane reserve in the world, the USA could easily become the world's #1 source for clean hydrogen.
Agriculture and the SULFUR MAGNET®
The SULFUR MAGNET® was created to remove harmful contaminants from the air, water, and land that cause unpleasant odors like skunk spray, urine, feces, hydrogen sulfide (H2S) and many others. Unsolicited testimonials report that applying the SULFUR MAGNET® as powder with a rose duster eliminates odors immediately from Equestrian training arenas, garbage containers, etc. For long-term odor elimination, apply in the fine granular form.
The SULFUR MAGNET® offers the following additional features:
- 100% organic compound free
- Approximately 80X more effective than the best activated carbon for H2S removal
- Anti-microbial and Anti-fungal
- Effective for reducing chlorine, bromine, fluorine, and iodine
- Unaffected by freezing temperatures, humidity, and high heat over 500°F
- Odor-free and insoluble in water
- Suitable for landfill disposal
- Recyclable & Regenerable for reuse
Effective for eliminating unpleasant odors, such as those from skunks, urine, ammonia, and many others sources.
Additional Applications:
- Waste Water Treatment and Mining Water Runoff
- Effectively reduce cyanide contamination
- Liquid odor control: Remove unpleasant odors in water runoff
- Capable in a broad range of pH from 6 - 10.5
- Unaffected by extreme temperatures
- Safe for the environment
- Locks contaminants absorbed tightly and is safe for bulk transportation, "virgin" or “spent”
Composed by: James Wasas, Chief Science Officer