Girdler sulfide process

Neuburg, H.J. Atherley, J.F. Walker, L.G. "Girdler-Sulfide Process Physical Properties," AECL-5702. Chalk River Nuclear Laboratories Chalk River, Ontario, May 1977. 

Neuberg, H.J., J.F. Atherley, and L.G. Walker. 1977. Girdler-sulfide process physical properties. Atomic Energy of Canada Ltd., Report No. AECL-5702. 

To avoid the high cost of chemical reflux, Geib (1946) and Spevack (1957) independently suggested a dual temperature process. Consider application to the H2S/H2O exchange known as the GS (Geib-Spevack, Girdler-Sulfide) process. The method exploits the fact that the isotope-exchange equilibrium constant is temperature-dependent. The scheme which results is illustrated in Fig. 51.7. Here the isotope of interest, D, concentrates in the liquid. 

Hydrogen sulfide is used to separate deuterium oxide, or heavy water, from normal water via the Girdler Sulfide process. 

Derivation There are several methods of separating or concentrating DOD (1) fractional distillation, (2) Girdler-Spevack process, (3) hydrogen-sulfide exchange process, (4) electrolysis, (5) cryogenic methane distillation. 

The first dual-temperature plant for the Manhattan District Heavy Water program was built at Dana and the second at Savannah River. The process was known as GS process (Girdler-Sulfide or Girdler-Spevack). A very simplified flow sheet of this process resembles Fig. 3C. 

The first plant of this type, designed by the Girdler Corporation and operated by E. I. du Pont de Nemours and Company, built at the Wabash Ordnance Plant at I ina, Indiana, in 1952 but later shut down, gave this process the name the G-S process, for Girdler-Sulfide. Three improved units, each with a capacity of 160 MT/year, were designed, built, and operated by du Pont at Aiken, South Carolina [B2] one is still in operation at a reduced capacity of 69 MT/year. 

Foaming is commonly experienced in the "cold (90 to 100°F) hydrogen sulfide-water contactors of the (jS (girdler-sulfide) heavy water process (132,182). This foaming is promoted by a high content of suspended solids in the feed water, is sensitive to this solids content. 

Hydrogen sulfide, H2S, is a colourless, poisonous, corrosive, flammable and potentially explosive gas familiar to most people as rotten egg gas Its discovery is credited to Carl Wilhelm Scheele in 1777. The gas is commercially available and applications range from organosulfur and metal-sulfur chemistry to the production of heavy water (Girdler-Spevack process). 

G-S [Girdler Sulfide] A process for separating hydrogen isotopes, using the equilibrium between water and hydrogen sulfide ... 

Invented in 1930 by R. G. Bottoms at the Girdler Corporation, Louisville, KY. In 1950 it was the most commonly used process for removing hydrogen sulfide from refinery and natural... 

There are several methods for the preparation of mercaptans and sulfides. It is our intention here to emphasize only the most facile methods that are safe to operate commercially, use inexpensive raw materials, produce minimum by-products, and allow for simple and easy by-product handling. While the sources of sulfur for thiolation can be many, the most common ones are hydrogen sulfide (H2S), elemental sulfur, and carbon disulfide (CS2). H2S is a component of sour natural gas and can be separated for use in the manufacture of mercaptans and other sulfur chemicals. Additionally, H2S is generated in the many hydrode-sulfurizing units in a refinery. With minimal purification this could be used for the manufacture of thiochemicals. In many instances H2S is manufactured by either the Girdler or the Folkins processes ... 

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