Last year saw global trade in all commodities have to take into account the potential loss of supply from Russia, a key exporter of many commodities. Sulphur was no exception, with prices swinging wildly across the year.
Last year attention was drawn to the potential for large scale decarbonisation to leave the world short of the key resources of sulphur, and hence sulphuric acid. But is there a global sulphur shortage on the distant horizon?
The world has seen a number of hydrogen explosions in double absorption plants mostly in the intermediate absorption tower (IAT). To review this increase and to determine the causes, an International Hydrogen Safety Workgroup was formed including major acid plant contractors, major acid producers, and consultants in the sulphuric acid arena. Workgroup member Rick Davis of Davis & Associates Consulting explores some of the findings.
CO2 emission abatement strategies have become increasingly important as the world strives to combat global climate change. Mahin Rameshni and Stephen Santo of Rameshni & Associates Technology & Engineering (RATE USA) discuss carbon capture options available for sulphur recovery units.
Sulphur run-down lines are typically sized by referencing past projects and ‘rules of thumb’. Very little analysis is performed to identify the impacts of slope, fittings, valves, etc. It is critical to maintain an open vapour path from the condenser to the sealing device. CSI has observed problems in the field which appear to be caused by undersized run-down lines. CSI developed a method of predicting the liquid level in a run-down line that considers the most common elements. This was accomplished by building a full-scale model of a run-down line that evaluated pipe NPS, pipe slope, rod-out-cross elbows, rod-out cross elevation drops, and liquid viscosity. This article* presents the testing and development of the predictive method as well as the predictive method itself.
NORAM has recently introduced a patented acid entrainment mitigation device (EMD) to deal with acid mist carryover from sulphuric acid towers.
A report on CRU’s annual Sulphur + Sulphuric Acid conference, which returned to being face to face meeting at the end of October 2022.
The energy transition has already commenced and while sulphuric acid production is already virtually carbon free, there will likely still be impacts on the sulphuric acid industry resulting from this energy transformation. Hannes Storch, Shailesh Chandrol, Collin Bartlett and Jens Kleiber of Metso Outotec present their view on a roadmap to sustainability, preparing for energy transition in the sulphuric acid industry through permanent product development, digitalisation and new technologies.
The capabilities of OGT’s ProTreat ® simulator were recently enhanced by the addition of gas treating with hybrid solvents. The functionality was developed generically to make it as broadly applicable as possible. In this article, Ralph H. Weiland of Optimized Gas Treating investigates the effect of TEG as a contaminant on the performance of DEA, MDEA, and piperazine-promoted MDEA in a gas treating application.
Operating plants in extreme environments can present unique challenges. If these challenges are not anticipated and addressed in design and commissioning, the plant will not be able to start up nor meet its specification. This article examines the challenges faced in commissioning amine plants operating in three diverse environments (extreme heat, extreme cold, and offshore) and the technical and procedural solutions employed to resolve them. Mike Sheilan, Ben Spooner, Kaiyr Tekebayev, and Philip le Grange , Amine Experts.