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New Asian refining capacity

Summary

Asia continues to add refining capacity which will generate additional tonnages of sulphur over the coming few years.

Abstract

Over the past few decades, global oil demand has continued to grow, apart from a contraction over the period 2007-2009 caused by the banking crash and slowdown in the global economy. There are no signs that this is likely to change in the near future. Furthermore, the location of oil consumption has gradually shifted. In 1980, the ‘western hemisphere’ – Europe, Africa and the Americas – consumed about 75% of oil, and Asia only about 25%, but by 2017 this had become virtually 50-50. Keywords: CHINA, INDIA, MALAYSIA, PHILIPPINES, VIETNAM, RAPID, IOC, HPCL, TEAPOT, SOUTHEAST, HYDROPROCESSING, HYDROPROCESSOR, HYDROTREATER, HYDROTREATING

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Nickel and copper in Southeast Asia

Summary

The demand for sulphuric acid in metal processing has been complicated by Indonesia's export ban on nickel ores and move to develop copper smelting capacity and an environmental crackdown on nickel mining in the Philippines.

Abstract

Indonesia and the Philippines are the two largest producers of nickel in the world, and between them represent 30% of global nickel mining capacity, and this proportion is growing rapidly. Indonesia will produce 25% of the world’s nickel ore in 2018, with a larger proportion than ever being processed locally to nickel pig iron (NPI). Keywords: ELECTRIC, BATTERY, INDONESIA, PHILIPPINES, HPAL, LATERITE, CHINA, CONCENTRATE, GRASBERG, NPI, STEEL, SMELTER, LEACHING, GRESIK

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Emissions reductions for adjacent acid plants

Summary

NORAM is offering a new solution to greatly reduce emissions from sulphuric acid plants during start-up and transient operating conditions. Through the installation of ducting between parallel or tandem plants, emissions can be transferred from a plant undergoing unsteady state operation to a neighbouring plant operating at steady-state, without adversely affecting production of the steady-state plant. In this article, NORAM describes the new emissions reduction process and compares it to current emissions reduction procedures.

Abstract

Chemical plants around the world are facing more stringent environmental regulations by governing bodies to reduce emissions. Emissions of species such as SO2, SO3, H2SO4, NOx, HC, CO, and other pollutants are under close scrutiny. While plants today face continuous “normal” operation regulations, it is becoming more common to see regulations being set for plants in transient and upset states. Keywords: new process, emissions reduction, NORAM, sulphuric acid, sulphur burning plant, metallurgical plant, acid regeneration plant, start-up, start-up procedure, transient conditions, tandem plants, parallel plants, stack emissions, chemical scrubbing

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Ensuring low emissions with technical services

Summary

Besides advanced catalysts, good technical services can be a valuable tool to achieve better sulphuric acid plant performance and meet stricter emission limits. In this article M. Granroth of Topsoe reports on the effective use of technical services for catalyst loading design, optimisation of plant operation and plant debottlenecking and troubleshooting.

Abstract

Air pollution is, or is becoming, a significant issue in big cities and highly industrialised regions across the globe. As a consequence, emissions from all sources attract more and more attention from the public and legislators. This increased attention has affected the sulphuric acid industry through a tightening of the maximum permissible limits for a number of pollutants, such as sulphur dioxide (SO2) and acid mist. Keywords: Topsoe, technical services, SO2 emissions control, catalyst, debottlenecking, catalyst loading, troubleshooting, flow distribution, plant optimisation, sulphuric acid, Southern Peru, Ilo smelter, SO2 stripping

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The seven deadly sins of tail gas treating units

Summary

Since the start-up of the first SCOT® unit in Alberta, Canada in 1973, sulphur hydrogenation with an amine system for acid gas recycle has become the predominant Claus tail gas treating technology where very high sulphur recovery and very low emissions are required. Despite the maturity of this technology, some facilities do not operate the SRU and TGTU with a proper understanding of the fundamentals of the process integration. In this article, J. Brindle, G. Bohme and B. Spooner of Sulphur Experts Group of Companies discuss the most common design, operation, and reliability problems encountered in these units that impact emissions compliance or reliability of the unit and guidance for achieving compliant and reliable operation.

Abstract

Reliable and effective operation of hydrogenation-based tail gas treating units (TGTUs), of which the SCOT® unit is the archetype, has become a critical process for many plants to meet increasingly stringent emissions regulations worldwide. Keywords: Claus tail gas treating, SCOT, TGTU, sulphur recovery, hydrogenation, carbon disulphide, carbonyl sulphide, SO2, COS, CS2, catalyst, titania, hydrogenation catalyst, flame colour, reducing as generator, RGG, troubleshooting, reactor temperature, reactor overloading, emissions, quench water quality, amine operation, bypassing, valves, trouble spots, Sulphur Experts

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