Tag: Sulphuric Acid

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

Sulphur demand losses for production of phosphoric acid are forecast at 2.2 million t/a in 2020. Factoring in demand gains in markets such as Morocco, the sector is expected to see a drop of 800,000 t/a in 2020. Recovery is forecast from 2021 with a 2 million t/a increase forecast.

There was a rapid increase in sulphuric acid demand for copper, uranium and nickel leaching from 1995-2015, but over the past few years growth in this sector has slowed dramatically. Now however there are signs that demand is starting to pick up again with several new projects under development.

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

How the macro market responds to the coronavirus pandemic over the months ahead and governmental response in different parts of the globe will likely have a lasting impact on the outlook for the sulphur market.

Shell Global Solutions International BV (Shell) has awarded Worley two contracts for PT Pertamina EP Cepu’s (PEPC) new sulphuric acid plant in Indonesia. This plant is part of the Jambaran-Tiung Biru utilised gas field project for PEPC, which is a subsidiary of PT Pertamina-Indonesia’s state-owned energy company. Under the contracts, Worley will supply be supplying Chemetics’ cooled oxidation reactor (CORE) technology. This is the first time that CORE will be paired with Shell’s Cansolv SO2 capture technology. Worley gained the Chemetics technology as part of its Jacobs Energy, Chemicals and Resources acquisition last year. Cansolv controls the emissions and captures additional by-product value from the sulphur dioxide emitted from various refinery flue gas streams (such as cracking units, process heaters and boilers), sulphur plants and spent acid regeneration units. Sulphur dioxide can be recycled to the sulphur recovery unit to be produced as marketable sulphur or converted to sulphuric acid.

We highlight recent innovations in sulphuric acid plant design and construction. NORAM and CPPE are offering a new hybrid sulphuric acid process. KVT, meanwhile, has upgraded its wet sulphuric acid technology to reduce capex, opex and emissions. Improved methods of construction and new materials from Koch Knight are also helping to optimise acid tower design

Claira Lloyd, Sulphur Editor and Sulphur Fertilizers Team Leader, Argus Media, assesses price trends and the market outlook for sulphur.

Middle East supply will return to normal at the start of the second quarter with bottlenecks in the UAE and maintenance in Saudi Arabia at an end. But this is unlikely to result in lower Middle East f.o.b. prices until the second half of April, if not early May. This is because buyers who found it hard to find March loading cargoes will snap up any April product as soon as it’s made available.

The Ma’aden Wa’ad Al Shamal Phosphate Company (MWSPC) has signed a service agreement for a period of three years with DuPont Clean Technologies for its sulphuric acid plant at Sirhan. The service programme will include activity testing of catalyst samples, evaluation of catalyst performance, plant optimisation, troubleshooting and management of catalyst replacement. DuPont says that it will also track plant performance and assess its overall health using pre-agreed metrics and its proprietary PeGASyS™ gas chromatography system, which can be used to detect possible leaks in gas-gas heat exchangers, identify SO2 gas bypassing and measure overall plant conversion in order to optimise plant operation, reduce SO 2 emissions, increase production and improve converter performance.