A process for the removal of
hydrogen sulfide from a gas
stream in which the gas
stream is first passed through a Claus unit operating at a sub-stoichiometric ratio (H2S: SO2) of greater than 2:1 to produce a
tail gas
stream comprising less than 2000 vppm SO2. This
tail gas stream is then treated to increase the
sulfur recovery to at least 99.5% by first directly cooling the
tail gas stream by contact with water as a
coolant, followed by contacting the gas stream with a circulating stream of a dilute, absorbent solution of a severely sterically hindered secondary aminoether
alcohol to further cool the gas stream, and then removing the H2S from the stream using a stronger absorbent solution of a severely sterically hindered secondary aminoether
alcohol.