Category: Technology

To comply with stricter stack emission obligations, industries are required to recover more heat from flue gas and to clean it before it can be discharged into the atmosphere. J. Kitzhofer of APEX Group discusses the challenges and limitations of the majority of current heat recovery systems and reports on a new family of acid resistant tubular and plate-type heat exchangers developed by APEX Group that overcomes these problems. The new heat exchangers are resistant to dew point corrosion. The heat transfer elements are constructed from an acid resistant polymer composite with high thermal conductivity, allowing the design of new trouble-free heat recovery systems and the upgrade of existing systems to meet heat recovery and stack emission targets.

M. Østberg and M. Rautenbach of Haldor Topsoe describe ReShift ™ technology, a new high temperature CO 2 reforming process, where preheated CO 2 is added directly downstream of a main reformer and then equilibrated in an adiabatic reactor. This new technology makes use of the high temperature of the reformer effluent to circumvent carbon formation, while at the same time maintaining an overall minimum steam to hydrocarbon carbon ratio, depending on process specific conditions. An increase in the amount of CO 2 added to the process will result in an increased fraction of CO in the produced synthesis gas. Synthesis gas with H 2 /CO ratios in the range 0.5-3 can be produced. These CO-rich gases are typically utilised in the production of functional chemicals and synthetic fuels.

Sulphur’s annual survey of recent and planned construction projects in the sulphuric acid industry includes several large-scale acid plants both for phosphate processing and to capture sulphur dioxide from smelters.

With demand for conventional fuels projected to peak and fall over the next decade, some refiners are looking to petrochemical production as a way of diversifying their product slate.

A. Goudarzi of CECO Industrial Solutions discusses the science behind NOx content and how it impacts sulphuric acid producers. In a recent project in Korea, TWIN-PAK® candle filter technology was successfully used to reduce NOx emissions in metallurgical oleum tower production. After installation of the candle filter mist eliminators the plant was compliant with environmental regulations enabling the producer to operate the plant without penalties or shutdowns.

The continuing spread of alkylation technology and the preference for the sulphuric acid route are leading to increased demand for acid in refineries.

Temperature monitoring and measurement of the Claus thermal reactor in sulphur recovery units is one of the most challenging applications in the oil and gas industry. Recently, market interest in unpurged thermocouples has increased with the introduction of new unpurged thermocouple designs utilising alternative thermowell materials such as monocrystalline sapphire.

Are the three “T”s (temperature, turbulence, time) of Claus unit ammonia destruction still meaningful with improved understanding of the thermal reactor? CFD models appear to be adequate at higher temperatures, e.g. 1,200°C, but not at lower temperatures, e.g. 800°C and 1,000°C. A. Keller, on behalf of the Amine Best Practices Group, reviews how meaningful the rules of thumb for Claus unit ammonia destruction really are.

New state-of-the-art equipment has been installed in the thermal stage of one of Europe’s largest Claus SRU units. Substoichiometric firing and a furnace designed with CFD calculations and a modern compact boiler system design based on detailed heat engineering and FEM calculations were key to the success of the retrofit. P. Foith of CS Combustion Solutions reports on the retrofit and how the novel combination of a CS low pressure swirl burner, additional mixing using a VectorWall™ and a new waste heat boiler design achieved the desired results.

Sulphur processing and handling equipment manufacturer IPCO has completed the commissioning of a groundbreaking new drum granulator in Italy that will serve as a global showcase for this patented system. C. Metheral of IPCO, describes the innovative approach and key features of the SG20 sulphur granulation system.