Bulk H2S removal from the reformate streams is a key step in ensuring the activity of various fuel processing catalysts and high value electrode assemblies. To accomplish this goal a sintered vitreous microfibrous carrier consisting of 5.0 vol% of 8 um (dia.) glass fibers is used to entrap 25 vol% of 150-250 um (dia.) SiO2 particulates. ZnO is then placed onto the support by impregnation at loading of 20 wt% (including the mass of the glass fibers). The composite sorbents with thin structural design possessed 85% voidage. XRD analyses combined with N2-BET measurement indicate that the nano-sized ZnO was highly dispersed onto the entrapped micro-sized SiO2 support (300m2/g). The nano-dispersed nature of the ZnO combined with the small support particulates promotes both high ZnO utilization and high contacting efficiency while significantly facilitating the regeneration in air, compared to packed beds of 1-2 mm extrudates. At equivalent bed volumes, ZnO/SiO2 entrapped materials provide 2-3 times longer breakthrough time for H2S (@1ppm H2S detection limit) with a 67% reduction in sorbent loading, compared to packed beds of commercially available 1-2 mm extrudates. Such microfibrous sorbent can offer greater than 5-log (0.1 out of 10,000) difference between the outlet and the inlet H2S concentrations until >57% ZnO utilization has been achieved. H2S concentrations of 2,000 ppmv can be reduced to as little as 0.6 ppmv at 673 K in 30% H2O at a face velocity of 1.7cm/s for layers as thin as 1.0 mm in thickness. In addition, the above noted microfibrous sorbent is thermally regenerable in air, permitting to be recycled/reused in many times. It can provide up to 15-fold higher recovery percentage of H2S saturation capacity after regeneration in air from 773 to 873 K for 1-3h compared to commercially available 1-2 mm extrudates.