Tag: Sulphur Dioxide

Sulphur dust is one of the greatest hazards when producing and handling solid sulphur, and methods for its suppression are vitally important to prevent fire and explosion.

Worley has been awarded a contract to supply Chemetics’ CORESO2™ technology for a sulphuric acid plant and associated oxygen unit at the Arafura Rare Earths project, sited 135 km north of Alice Springs in Australia’s Northern Territory. A greenfield mine will extract and process neodymium and praseodymium to create ultra-strong permanent magnets for a range of applications, such as household electronics and high-performance motors for electric vehicles.

Sulphur is a vital secondary crop nutrient. It can be delivered in sulphate, thiosulphate and elemental form. The range of product and process options are outlined.

Most processes involving sulphur, from smelting to refining, produce sulphur dioxide as a by-product. Regulations continue to tighten on industrial SO2 emissions worldwide, leading to greater recovery of sulphur and sulphuric acid at these sites.

It has long been known that sulphur dioxide aerosols can reflect sunlight back into space. On a large scale, this has tended to come from volcanic eruptions. The explosion of the island of Krakatoa in 1815 led to the following year, 1816, becoming known in Europe as ‘the year without a summer’. More recently, it is estimated that the eruption of Mount Pinatubo in the Philippines in 1991, the second largest eruption of the 20th century, sent around 18 million tonnes of SO2 into the stratosphere. Temperatures in the troposphere – the atmospheric layer closest to the earth – dropped by about 0.5°C as a result for about two years afterwards.

A move towards so-called ‘sustainable aviation fuels’ (SAF) could see refineries having to recast their operations. What might this mean for sulphur production?

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.

By recovering waste heat as process steam or electrical energy, technologies are available that can help sulphuric acid plants meet their energy goals. Colin Shore of Elessent Clean Technologies discusses how MECS® HRS™ technology can offer a sustainable solution to enhance sulphuric acid plant performance, while lowering its carbon emissions.

The trend for multicomponent analysis of emissions from sulphur recovery units is becoming more widespread. David Inward of Sick reports on a recent field trial to test the suitability of a hot extractive infra-red analyser for this application. In addition to reliably measuring and reporting emissions to air, the analyser is also capable of contributing to reducing overall tail gas emissions by supporting enhanced optimisation of the thermal oxidiser.

Jochen Geiger of AMETEK Process Instruments reviews SRU process analyser standards, how to choose the right instruments, what to watch out for when selecting the point of installation, responsibilities for the analysers after installation, and how to make best use of the information provided by these analysers. Potential upset conditions and how analysers can help us to understand and mitigate them are also discussed.