Section: CRUSU Market & Features

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.

New supply-side capacity additions in 2023 will increase export availability from the Middle East. Projects have already been ramping up in Qatar, Saudi Arabia and Kuwait.

Enhancing the reliability of sulphur plant starts in the thermal stage. Matt Coady and Martin McCallister of Delta Controls report on a recently developed and launched insertable process camera that monitors the vessel interior of online Claus thermal reactors, providing valuable process data which will allow plants to make better informed operation decisions.

With energy prices skyrocketing, sulphuric acid plant operators face a heightened challenge to improve plant efficiency. Martin Alvarez from Topsoe discusses how the company’s new high-activity catalyst, VK38+, can help acid plants maximise energy efficiency to secure important economic benefits while simultaneously reducing their carbon footprint.

Daniel R. Egger of Sulzer Chemtech Ltd discusses mist elimination challenges in strong sulphuric acid applications and presents the unique Sulzer KnitMesh XCOAT™ mist eliminator as an ideal solution for corrosive services such as in sulphuric acid drying towers.

Sulphur is a relatively safe and inert solid. However, it has a number of unique physical and chemical properties which can give rise to hazards, particularly during transport and handling.