Patent ID: 7682424

Claim:
A process comprising: (a) contacting an sulfur-containing gas stream with an initial sorbent in a sorption zone to thereby produce an sulfur-depleted product stream and a sulfur-laden sorbent, wherein said initial sorbent comprises Zn and a promoter metal; and (b) contacting at least a portion of said sulfur-laden sorbent with a regeneration gas stream in a regeneration zone under regeneration conditions to thereby produce a regenerated sorbent and an off-gas stream, wherein said contacting of step (b) includes introducing said regeneration gas into said regeneration zone at an initial standard gas hourly space velocity (SGHSV) in the range of from about 100 to about 100,000 h −1 , wherein said contacting of step (b) includes increasing the SGHSV of said regeneration gas to a final SGHSV that is at least 1,000 h −1 higher than said initial SGHSV.