Froth process

Claim 1

A process for the removal of H 2 S from a sour gaseous stream comprising: (a) contacting the sour gaseous stream in a contacting zone with an aqueous reaction solution at a temperature below the melting point of sulfur, the mixture comprising an effective amount of a reactant selected from the group consisting of polyvalent metallic ions and polyvalent metal chelate compounds, and mixtures thereof, to produce a sweet gas stream and an aqueous mixture containing crystalline sulfur and a reduced reactant; (b) removing aqueous admixture from the contacting zone and contacting said aqueous admixture in a regeneration zone with an oxygen-containing gas under conditions to produce a regenerated aqueous admixture containing regenerated reactant and a froth containing sulfur and aqueous admixture; (c) removing froth from the regeneration zone and contacting said froth with a liquid extracting composition selected from compounds having the formula C n H 2n+1 OH, wherein n is a whole number from 4 through 15, and compounds having the formula C n H 2n-1 OH, wherein n is a whole number from 4 through 20, and mixtures thereof, in an amount sufficient to remove at least the bulk of the sulfur from the froth and produce a separate liquid layer containing sulfur and said composition, and forming a three-phase mass comprising an upper liquid layer comprising solid sulfur and said composition, and a lower layer in contact with said upper layer, said lower layer comprising regenerated aqueous admixture; (d) separating at least a portion of the upper liquid layer, and recovering sulfur from the portion separated; (e) returning regenerated aqueous admixture from the regeneration zone to the contacting zone.