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Hydrogen sulfide (H 2 S) is a flammable, corrosive and lethal gas even at low concentrations (ppm levels). Hence, the capture and removal of H 2 S from various emitting sources (such as oil and gas processing facilities, natural emissions, sewage treatment plants, landfills and other industrial plants) is necessary to prevent and mitigate its adverse effects on human (causing respiratory failure and asphyxiation), environment (creating highly flammable and explosive environment), and facilities (resulting in corrosion of industrial equipment and pipelines). In this review, the state-of-the-art technologies for H 2 S capture and removal are reviewed and discussed. In particular, the recent technologies for H 2 S removal such as membrane, adsorption, absorption and membrane contactor are extensively reviewed. To date, adsorption using metal oxide-based sorbents is by far the most established technology in commercial scale for the fine removal of H 2 S, while solvent absorption is also industrially matured for bulk removal of CO 2 and H 2 S simultaneously. In addition, the strengths, limitations, technological gaps and way forward for each technology are also outlined. Furthermore, the comparison of established carbon capture technologies in simultaneous and selective removal of H 2 S–CO 2 is also comprehensively discussed and presented. It was found that the existing carbon capture technologies are not adequate for the selective removal of H 2 S from CO 2 due to their similar characteristics, and thus extensive research is still needed in this area. [Display omitted] • Performances of H 2 S capture and removal technologies are critically reviewed. • Adsorption is the most established industrial technology for H 2 S fine removal. • New composite or functionalized adsorbents could enhance H 2 S removal capability. • Selective separation of H 2 S/CO 2 are still not fully available and established. • Pros, cons, and technology readiness level of each technology are compared. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]