Patent ID: 7553473

Claim:
A process for the oxidation of hydrogen sulfide, comprising: a) contacting a gas comprising H 2 S with an aqueous acid solution comprising trivalent iron and a hetero polyacid having redox properties, as such or partially salified with an alkaline metal or with ammonium, said polyacid represented by formula (I): H n XV y M (12-y) O 40 (I) wherein n is an integer ranging from 3 to 6, X is an element selected from the group consisting of P, Si, As, B, and Ge, y is an integer ranging from 1 to 3, and M is selected from the group consisting of Mo and W; b) filtering and separating sulfur resulting from said contacting wherein said trivalent iron is reduced to bivalent iron; c) re-oxidizing said bivalent iron to trivalent iron with a gaseous stream comprising oxygen; and d) recycling a solution comprising trivalent iron and the hetero polyacid to step a).