Category: Technology

Shell Deutschland has taken a final investment decision (FID) to progress REFHYNE II, a 100 MW renewable proton-exchange membrane (PEM) hydrogen electrolyser at the Shell Energy and Chemicals Park Rheinland in Germany. Using renewable electricity, REFHYNE II is expected to produce up to 44 t/d of renewable hydrogen to partially decarbonise site operations. The electrolyser is scheduled to begin operating in 2027. Renewable hydrogen from REFHYNE II will be used at the Shell Energy and Chemicals Park to produce energy products such as transport fuels with a lower carbon intensity. Using renewable hydrogen at Shell Rheinland will help to further reduce Scope 1 and 2 emissions at the facility. In the longer term, renewable hydrogen from REFHYNE II could be directly supplied to help lower industrial emissions in the region as customer demand evolves.

Join us at the CRU Sulphur + Sulphuric Acid 2024 Conference and Exhibition in Barcelona, 4-6 November, for a global gathering of the sulphur and sulphuric acid community. Meet leading market and technology experts and producers, network, share knowledge, and learn about market trends and the latest developments in operations, process technology and equipment.

Refinery sour water strippers are an often overlooked resource of low GWP ammonia. Martin A. Taylor and Charles L. Kimtantas of Bechtel Energy Technologies and Solutions, Inc. (BETS) show the results of a study on reusing an existing SWS as one of the major systems in a SWSPlus unit for the recovery of ammonia for sale. Relative cost factors will compare a complete SWSPlus unit versus reusing an existing SWS.

As more focus extends to a circular economy, there are industry wide discussions on whether future global sulphur demand will be challenged by the energy transition and decarbonisation. Hannes Storch, Collin Bartlett and Marcus Runkel of Metso discuss how the recycling of pyrite tailings could address some of these issues.

Transporting sulphur as a dry bulk solid can lead to it breaking into small particles which create dust. Over the years, various forming processes have been developed to try and minimise dust formation and produce the strongest, most resilient formed sulphur particles.

In this case study, CS Combustion Solutions presents a comprehensive strategy for the capacity enhancement and optimisation of a sulphuric acid plant that was facing several operational challenges.

This troubleshooting case study describes an incident at one of the sulphur recovery units at BPCL Kochi Refinery, India. Following a maintenance turnaround of the unit in 2022, unusually high H2 S and SO2 were observed at the outlet of the Claus section. This created an additional load on the tail gas reactor, which led to frequent plugging in the quench column and frequent outages in the tail gas unit, creating environmental and reliability issues in the unit. The activities to identify the root cause of the incident are described and the measures to solve the problem are shared.

Veolia says that its subsidiary Veolia North America has signed an agreement for the divestment of Veolia North America Regeneration Services, which includes its sulphuric acid and hydrofluoric acid regeneration activities for refineries, to private equity firm American Industrial Partners for $620 million. These activities represented revenues of around $350 million in 2023. The financial closure of the transaction is expected soon. Veolia’s Sulphuric Acid Regeneration Business includes its sulphuric acid and potassium hydroxide regeneration, as well as sulphur gas recovery, and sulphur-based products production businesses.

Optical gas imaging technology, enhanced by artificial intelligence, offers a groundbreaking approach to monitoring SO2 emissions in real time. Andrés Russu of SENSIA introduces SENSIA’s RedLook solution which offers fully autonomous, 24/7 continuous monitoring of SO2 leaks, providing industries with the tools they need to maintain environmental integrity and operational safety.

The pursuit of operational excellence requires continuous process monitoring, together with qualified analysis of the collected data. The Digital Process Monitor (DPM) provides a process digital twin which consists of an accurate process plant model that incorporates the licensor’s knowledge and expertise in sulphur recovery technology, thereby providing continuous insights into plant performance. This article provides an overview of the DPM features focusing on the related benefits in terms of overall operational improvements and plant efficiency for the sulphur recovery unit.