Petroleum Industry Sulphur Emission and Removal Using Membrane Technology

Different operations in the petroleum industries produce and emit sulphur compounds, which are hazardous to the environment. With increasing environmental consciousness, research on regulating and eliminating sulphur compounds has been going on effectively. There are several well-known methods for removing sulphur from industrial wastes, include absorption, hydrodesulfurization (HDS), extraction, adsorption, biodesulfurization, etc. Membrane technology is preferred in such work due to its easy scaling up for better commercialization, minimal monitoring, low space occupation and simple installation compared to other separation processes. Membrane technology has been used in many industrial sectors since it has a high impact from an environmental point of view. Due to the excellent selectivity, feasible economy and safety, the membrane separation technique has gained significant attention in the petroleum industry especially for gas separation.