Metal markets are used to ups and downs, and, as we discuss elsewhere in this issue, this year has seen more than most, mainly thanks to the virus that is still keeping us indoors – as I write this, the UK has just moved back into a second national ‘lockdown’. However, this year has seen the fortunes of one metal in particular simply rise and rise – nickel.
A few years ago DME production from methanol gave a major boost to world methanol demand, with DME being used as a blendstock for LPG. However, demand plateaued and DME has not had the takeoff that its proponents feel it should have. Could new renewable DME processes give it the boost it needs?
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.
New approaches and novel processing schemes employing oxygen enrichment in sulphur recovery units have been developed and commercialised. In this feature Siirtec Nigi, Linde, Blasch, Fluor and RATE report on their latest developments.
Johnson Matthey (JM) has been selected by China’s Ningxia Baofeng Energy Group as licensor for a third methanol synthesis plant at their coal to olefins complex near Yinchuan in Ningxia province. With a planned capacity of 7,200 t/d (2.4 million t/a), the unit will be the largest single train methanol plant in the world once completed.
Reg Adams of pigments and titanium dioxide consultancy Artikol reviews the demand for sulphuric acid in the manufacture of TiO2 , and the prospects for consumption over the next few years.
Weir Minerals has the global engineering expertise to tackle the world’s harshest and most extreme mine and quarry environments. These range from Canada’s frozen north to tropical Indonesia and the remote deserts of Chile, Mongolia and Australia. This expertise extends to Florida’s phosphate mining district, where a dedicated multi-disciplinary team is delivering an integrated approach to some tough mining challenges.
On June 30th, following clearance from the European Commission, Outotec completed the year-long merger of Metso’s Minerals business with Outotec via a partial demerger of Metso. The newly formed company, Metso Outotec, will focus on leadership in sustainable minerals and metals processing and recycling technologies. Headquartered in Finland, Metso Outotec employs over 15,000 professionals in more than 50 countries and its combined sales for 2019 were e4.2 billion.
With the ongoing changes in gas field and refinery feedstock compositions, many sulphur recovery units around the world are facing turndown scenarios to such an extent that it is difficult to meet stringent environmental regulations. Equipment and instrumentation behave differently under turndown conditions, and not always in ways that are desirable. Start-ups and shutdowns can place demands on the equipment that are more severe than years of normal operation. In this article, Optimized Gas Treating, Sulfur Recovery Engineering and Comprimo share some of their learnings and experiences of these scenarios.
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