Category: Technology

Blended and compound NPK fertilizers are a mainstay of many markets globally. We review the main production technology options.

Potash production improvements are being made in areas such as ore extraction, cooling and froth flotation. We review technological developments from Sandvik, Eriez, Nouryon and Solex Thermal Science.

The sulphuric acid process is virtually carbon free and, as such, it is important to consider the energy requirements of the associated industrial complex before deciding upon what form the energy should be exported from the acid plant. In this article, Stefan Braeuner, Stefan Mohsler and Anne Mohsler of Metso Outotec use case studies to exemplify the need to fully analyse the local conditions at site before a decision is taken on a specific flowsheet.

Lithium sulphur batteries have many advantages over conventional lithium ion batteries in terms of energy density, and they also avoid the use of costly cobalt, but they deteriorate rapidly and cannot be recharged as frequently. However, recent advances in Li-S batteries could overcome this problem and lead to widespread adoption.

SulGas, South Asia’s sulphur recovery and gas treating conference, returned to a live event in 2023, providing participants with a platform to interact with experts in the field, share best practices and troubleshooting tips with fellow refiners and discuss advanced technologies and operating procedures with technology providers, vendors and licensors.

SO2 breakthroughs remain an ever present threat to the successful operation of reductive, quenchamine-based tail gas clean-up units (TGUs). Effects can range from mild and annoying to quite severe, including failure to comply with environmental permit regulations and refinery shutdown. G . Simon A. Weiland, Nathan A. Hatcher, Prashanth Chandran, Daryl Jensen, Ralph H. Weiland, Jeff Weinfeld of Optimized Gas Treating, Inc. and Michael Huffmaster , Consultant.

Mathijs Sijpkes, Nuria Pascual Vasco and Jan Hermans of Sulphurnet discuss the importance of a whole life cycle cost analysis at the conceptual design phase when making investment decisions about new sulphur processing facilities.

Following the success of VectorWalls™ in the reaction furnace of sulphur recovery units over many years, VectorWalls™ are now delivering similar benefits in SRU thermal incinerators. Uday N. Parekh of Blasch Precision Ceramics reports on the deployment of VectorWalls™ to improve the performance of the SRU thermal incinerator and provide benefits such as lower fuel gas consumption and lower CO2 emissions.

Gerald Bohme and Joe Brindle of Sulphur Experts Inc. combine new learnings, historical data, and recent onsite experience from operating companies to show what factors really impact ammonia plugging risk and what can be done to control them in order to allow for a wider operating range for SWS processing in the refinery SRU.

Previously, recuperative reforming has been mostly applied for capacity increase revamps, but nowadays it is a key enabler for efficient low carbon hydrogen and syngas production. Jan-Jaap Riegman of Technip Energies, Francesco Baratto of Casale and Stefan Gebert of Clariant discuss the benefits of recuperative reforming for reducing the carbon footprint of existing assets.