CH4 and H2S reforming to CH3SH and H2 catalyzed by metal-promoted Mo6S8 clusters: a first-principles micro-kinetic study

Direct processing of sour, e.g. containing large amounts of acidic H2S and/or CO2 molecules, natural gas is of direct interest as vast amounts of it are available and accessible but are underutilized. While sour natural gas is still treated using energy-intensive amine absorption/desorption, here we propose and describe a first step in catalytically producing a value added chemical and energy carrier, CH3SH and H-2, respectively. For this purpose, we performed Density Functional Theory (DFT) and microkinetic modelling of CH4 and H2S reaction pathways to form CH3SH and H-2 as a first step in elucidating complex yet not explored pathways in oxygen-free sour gas reforming. For this purpose, we utilized bare unpromoted and K-or Nipromoted Mo6S8 clusters. CH4 dissociation was found to be the rate-determining step above 1100 K on Ni-promoted Mo6S8 while H-2 formation was the rate-determining step on the bare and K-promoted Mo6S8. At lower reaction temperatures between 800 and 1100 K, CH3SH formation becomes an important step, especially on Ni-Mo6S8. This method presents an interesting route of direct catalytic sour natural gas processing which potentially leads to high-value hydrocarbons, such as ethylene, using CH3SH as a reactive intermediate.