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North American phosphates

Summary

In spite of several high profile closures, US phosphate production remains a major consumer of sulphur, but demand continues to shrink as the industry rationalises.

Abstract

The phosphate industry has a long history in North America, beginning in the 1830s in North Carolina. The US was the largest producer of phosphate rock in the world throughout the 20th century, and its industry had a global reach. However, there has been a relative decline over the past couple of decades as competition has evolved elsewhere. US production of phosphate rock peaked in 1980 Keywords: Mosaic, Nutrien, Itafos, Simplot, Arianne, New Wales, export, phosphoric, DAP, MAP, SSP, superphosphate, ammonium

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Sour gas project update

Summary

Sulphur production from sour natural gas will continue to be the largest slice of new sulphur capacity over the next few years.

Abstract

The modern sulphur industry has grown up on sour gas production, initially in western Europe and Canada, but quickly spreading to other regions. Definitions of what is ‘sour’ vary; most natural gas has some hydrogen sulphide content. At the lower end, definitions of sour as having values of more than 4 ppm, 24 ppm or 100 ppm hydrogen sulphide relate to equipment and pipeline tolerances for corrosion, as well as safety in the event of accidental release, and the International Energy Agency similarly defines it as natural gas with concentrations of CO2 and H2S “that exceed the concentrations specified for commercially saleable natural gas”. Keywords: Abu dhabi, UAE, Saudi Arabia, Iran, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Oman, Shah, Tengiz, Kashagan, Kazakhstan, Caspian, China, Canada, Qatar, Barzan, Galkynysh, Lukoil, Ghasha, Fadhili, TCO

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Steel belts for sulphur forming

Summary

Tom Smith of IPCO Germany GmbH discusses the history of steel belts in product cooling and forming and new grades of steel that the company has developed to deal with corrosion issues.

Abstract

The steel belt journey began in 1901 when a conveyor made from a hardened solid strip steel was used for transporting scrap material from a Swedish saw mill. Originally, this strip steel was used for band saws in the lumber industry. Then, thanks to an upgrade in the rolling mills, much longer and wider strips could be produced and the idea came up to use the material as a conveyance medium. Keywords: Steel belts for sulphur forming Oxide, scale, roll, rolling, levelling, weld, welding, austenitic, corrosion, molybdenum, duplex, pitting

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Industry's increasing interest in the circular economy

Summary

Donald Loftus, Senior Principal Consultant, Regeneration Services for Veolia North America, explains the increasing drive towards sulphuric acid alkylation and regeneration in refineries.

Abstract

The circular economy delivers value by diverting waste from disposal to production of quality products that are competitively priced, and which have a smaller environmental footprint than those made with virgin materials. Simply put, the circular economy relies on eliminating waste through reuse and recycling. Keywords: Alkylate, alkylation, TEL, MTBE, spent, recycle, refinery, refineries, octane

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Sustainability in the sulphur recovery industry

Summary

The increasing drive to improve and change the way we produce energy and materials and reduce greenhouse gas emissions spurs ongoing innovation. Tobias Roelofs and Marco van Son of Comprimo discuss ongoing trends in the sulphur recovery industry to meet some of these challenges and address the considerations which arise from the discussion on SO2 and CO2 emissions.

Abstract

With the growing awareness of the human footprint on our environment comes the increasing drive to improve and change the way we produce energy and materials. The drive towards a circular economy is also supported by the Paris Agreement1 in which countries and governments have committed to reducing greenhouse gas emissions. These developments spur ongoing innovation which also affects the sulphur recovery industry. The main task at hand is: Can we reduce or mitigate SO2 emissions while at the same time adhere to a lower energy input and carbon footprint? Keywords: sustainability, sulphur recovery, SO2 emissions, CO2 emissions, SUPERCLAUS, EUROCLAUS, STRATACLAUS, tail gas treating, effluent, economics, EU-ETS, emissions allowances, CO2 pricing, health effects, Comprimo

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Technology options for tighter emissions

Summary

Finding the best solution to reduce emissions from sulphur recovery units and tail gas treating units requires careful and detailed evalution of many factors. In this article Fluor introduces a new carbon dioxide recovery process and Siirtec Nigi, RATE and Kinetics Technology report on recent studies to identify the best technologies and processes to meet more stringent emissions regulations.

Abstract

Fluor’s Oxygen Enhanced Claus CO2 Recovery Process The adverse impact of excessive CO2 to the global climate is becoming more obvious every day. Regulations to reduce CO2 emissions to the atmosphere from the oil, gas and chemical industry is imminent. To date, very few technologies have succeeded in being commercialised and made available to the market due to their unacceptably high capital (capex) and operating expenditure (opex) requirements. Keywords: sulphur recovery, emissions reduction, CO2 emissions, CO2 recovery, SO2 emissions, CO emissions, Oxygen Enhanced Claus Carbon Dioxide Recovery Process, OEC2RP, sour shift catalyst, catalyst oxidation, incinerator, incineration, TG-MAX, TG-RATE, SETR, SMAX, SMAXB, scrubbing, scrubber, sulphuric acid, MDEA, formulated MDEA, amine, selective solvent, vent gas, sulphur pit, sulphur drum, sulphur degassing, Fluro, Siirtec Nigi, RATE, KT

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Benefitting from SRU performance tests

Summary

Beyond explaining the rigours of completing the test work, Dharmesh Patel of Sulfur Recovery Engineering describes what benefits a SRU performance evaluation can deliver to the operator. The advantages apply to all stakeholders of the SRU including operations, maintenance, management, and environmental personnel. From reducing emissions to extending the life of SRU catalyst, a simple performance evaluation can provide substantial insight to operators which can, in turn, save money.

Abstract

Throughout the lifecycle of a sulphur recovery unit (SRU), there are a number of checks which must be made. In essence, plant operators go through the motions of replacing catalyst within a specified timeframe. The unit is then shut down, all of the catalyst within that train is replaced, and then the unit is started back up. Most operators have multiple SRU trains, allowing them to ensure that there are no losses to overall production strictly due to sulphur dioxide (SO2) emissions. Keywords: SRU, sulphur recovery, testing services, performance evaluation, preparation, onsite work, engineering work, SRU engineer, plant operator, maintenance, benchmark, COS hydrolysis, CS2 hydrolysis, acid gas bypass, catalyst, catalyst change out, catalyst life, recovery efficiency, SRE, SO2 emissions, sampling, analysis

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