Patent ID: 8486365

Claim:
A process for conversion of hydrogen sulfide into elemental sulfur comprising oxidation of hydrogen sulfide with oxygen in a gas stream on a solid catalyst in a fixed-bed oxidation reactor and additionally comprising at least one of the following stages: catalytic Claus reaction; catalytic hydrogenation of sulfurous compounds; removing elemental sulfur from the gas; recycling a part of the gas stream after the oxidation reactor in front of the oxidation reactor; removing sulfur dioxide from the gas stream after the oxidation reactor by its reversible or irreversible absorption into an aqueous solution; said process in which, to minimize the inhibitory effect of sulfur and to reduce the initiation temperature of the catalytic oxidation of hydrogen sulfide, the elemental sulfur content in the gas stream before, or after, or before and after the oxidation reactor is lessened so that the total concentration of all forms of elemental sulfur in the gas stream does not exceed 3.0 mg of sulfur per liter of the gas calculated for the standard conditions.