Magazine: Sulphur

Production cuts globally at refineries have left supply tight heading into the fourth quarter, firming prices. This has been compounded by major exporters in the Middle East prioritising sulphur tonnes to contracts before spot sales.

ClimeCo says that it has promoted Dr. Scott Subler to Chief Science Officer (CSO). Subler has made an enduring mark on the carbon offset world over the last 15 years. From overseeing the first US offset delivery from a dairy farm methane capture project to chairing the Offsets Committee for the Chicago Climate Exchange, Subler has been a major influence on many carbon offset methodologies that are used today. His work investigating different types of lagoon cover systems for dairy and swine farms in different climates continues to impact new methane capture installations, and his advocacy for organic waste composting projects resulted in the protocol used today at the Climate Action Reserve.

Several highly corrosion resistant materials are available today for use in handling process fluids encountered in the production of concentrated sulphuric acid. These alloys, properly selected for the operating conditions, provide the benefits of long operating life under harsh operating conditions extending the period of uninterrupted production cycles and lowering the incidence of catastrophic equipment failure. In this article, M. J. Cooke of Weir Minerals discusses materials of construction for pumps, valves and piping used in the production of sulphuric acid.

A. Bhargav and A. Krishnan of Helium Consulting Pvt. Ltd discuss how it is possible to reduce SOx emissions within the existing system setup of an oil refinery or gas plant through detailed analysis, expedited corrective actions and the use of automated algorithms in real-time, by using a digital IIoT solution to monitor, control and optimise.

Matt Langworthy, Analsyt for Argus Media, assesses price trends and the market outlook for sulphur.

In early October Tesla held a ‘battery day’ event at its headquarters in Fremont, California. Speaking at the event, company founder and CEO Elon Musk outlined his vision for the electric car industry over the coming decades, and spoke particularly to his ambitions for the nickel industry. He had already called for more mining of nickel earlier in the year, and has said that Tesla is developing cathodes that will contain higher nickel and no cobalt. The latter comes after a lawsuit against Tesla and several other high-tech US firms for allegedly supporting human rights violations by buying cobalt from the Democratic Republic of Congo. Musk echoed the potential ‘reputational risk’ for the nickel market and called for more sustainable nickel production, dangling the prospect of a “giant contract” with any miners that could produce nickel in an “environmentally sensitive way.” Tesla is reportedly in discussions with Vale and BHP as well as the Indonesian government concerning potential investments in nickel production.

K. Hanlon Kinsberg and J. Lewis of Comprimo review the main approaches for mercaptan removal in gas processing plants, based on past project experience and generally accepted industry practice.

The risk of a second Covid-19 wave over the winter period continues to fuel the trend of forward trading of sulphur cargoes. Downward pressure in some sectors for demand is likely as the macro economic forecast remains challenging.

Undegassed molten sulphur can contain several hundred ppmw H2 S. If the headspace in the storage tank is stagnant, the H2 S can accumulate in the vapour space above undegassed liquid sulphur to dangerous levels. Sweeping and blanketing systems are commonly applied to manage the explosion risk in the headspace of molten sulphur storage tanks. D. J. Sachde , C. M. Beitler , K. E. McIntush , and K. S. Fisher of Trimeric Corporation review these approaches, outlining the benefits and limitations, design considerations, and industry experience/guidance for each approach. Calculation methods for natural draft flow of sweep air are also presented.

Meena Chauhan, Head of Sulphur and Sulphuric Acid Research, Argus Media, assesses price trends and the market outlook for sulphur.