Leading companies such as Ballestra, Buss ChemTech, Elessent Clean Technologies (MECS) and Prayon Technologies are working together to solve the numerous production challenges facing the operators of integrated phosphate fertilizer production plants.
Highly efficient ammonia synthesis and subsequent cracking to hydrogen are key processes in the transition to the green hydrogen economy. Catalysts play an important role in the ammonia cracking process. Clariant offers both nickel and precious metal catalysts for this application and research on robust catalysts that allow lower temperatures for increased energy efficiency is ongoing.
In this review article, Hatch’s Jayden Ladebruk, Lyndsay Tran, Amelia Parrenin, and Edward DeRose outline the wide range of phosphoric acid production technologies, and discuss how industry challenges are influencing the choice of phosphoric acid process.
There is a growing skills gap in the sulphur industry due to the changing nature of the workforce. The traditional ways of doing things are no longer working effectively. Knowledge is lost with retiring subject matter experts (SMEs) and other experienced operations staff leaving a reducing pool of SMEs. In this article a case study reviews how knowledge automation solved the skills gap in a sulphur recovery unit at a major US refinery.
Debopam Chaudhuri of Fluor Daniel India Pvt Ltd and Michiel Baerends of Fluor B.V. Netherlands investigate how SO2 impacts the Claus furnace temperature in an SRU and the ways to mitigate it. This article studies the extent of quenching experienced in the Claus furnace with varying amounts of SO2 in the Claus feed. A case study is presented based on real operating data of a refinery Claus plant with a feed gas cocktail that includes substantial SO2 recovered from a regenerative flue gas desulphurisation unit.
In 2019 Topsoe launched its ClearView™ technology for WSA and SNOx sulphuric acid plants. ClearView™ is a revolutionary process health monitoring software solution to help sulphuric acid plant operators ensure plants run better, more stable and with less downtime. Now, three years later, ClearView™ has been successfully implemented at two WSA plants and several other chemical plants of Topsoe’s design, with many others in the pipeline. This article focuses on the results and learnings from the first implementation of ClearView™ at a new WSA plant at Anglo American Platinum’s Polokwane smelter in South Africa.
Aged sulphur products can be friable and fragile, which can lead to sulphur dust during handling. Because sulphur dust can lead to dust explosions and excessive wet sulphur contact corrosion, shipping and handling specifications for the safest products are used by producers, shippers and consumers to limit dangerous incidents. Metastable polymeric sulphur in the solid product limits friability and is rarely cited as a measured quantity within sulphur specifications, but often discussed when explaining best handling and forming practices. In this article, ASRL discusses why sulphur tends to be friable and explores several measurements cited in many specification documents, with the purpose of focusing on several modern solid forms. In addition, the measurement of total and extraneous water is explored.
The production of renewable fuels by retrofitting existing refineries and their infrastructure is witnessing exponential growth. The impact on the existing amine, sour water and sulphur recovery units is inevitable. Based on several case studies, Marco van Son, Shashank Gujale and Tammy Chan of Worley Comprimo discuss the various options available to holistically review the sulphur block to determine the impact and mitigation of processing bio-feed.
With the challenges facing the global refining industry, refiners should review their current practices to see how they can stay competitive and continue to thrive in today’s market. This means improving operational efficiencies and producing products at a lower cost, whilst ensuring performance and safety. Brian Visioli of Evonik explores the development of catalyst reuse and how recycled hydroprocessing catalysts can be successfully applied in tail gas treating units to deliver cost and performance gains.
Incorporating sulphur into polymers is known to improve their properties. New research is looking into the varied world of sulphur co-polymers, unlocking new materials for batteries, structural applications and clean technology.