Sulfur recovered

Minerals. Iron-bearing minerals are numerous and are present in most soils and rocks. However only a few minerals are important sources of iron and thus called ores. Table 2 shows the principle iron-bearing minerals. Hematite is the most plentiful iron mineral mined, followed by magnetite, goethite, siderite, ilmenite, and pyrite. Siderite is unimportant in the United States, but is an important source of iron in Europe. Tlmenite is normally mined for titania with iron as a by-product. Pyrite is roasted to recover sulfur in the form of sulfur dioxide, leaving iron oxide as a by-product. 

Recovered sulfur became the primary domestic source of elemental sulfur ia 1982. 

Plants that bum good quaUty elemental sulfur or H2S gas generally have no faciUties for purifying SO2. Before the advent of relatively pure Frasch or recovered sulfur, however, hot gas purification was frequentiy used in which the SO2 gas stream was passed through beds of granular soHds to filter out fine dust particles just prior to its entering the converter. 

Two principal factors affected the U.S. sulfuric acid industry in the 1980s. The first was the increased availabiUty of recovered sulfur vs Frasch sulfur (see SuLFURREMOVAL AND recovery). This occurred because of environmental concerns and regulations forcing more sulfur to be recovered at refineries, power plants, etc. The effect of this change was that the cost of sulfur in the marketplace became driven largely by the cost of nonsulfur industries, rather than by the traditional discretionary sulfur producers, and tended to stabilize U.S. sulfur prices. 

Sulfur can be produced direcdy via Frasch mining or conventional mining methods, or it can be recovered as a by-product from sulfur removal and recovery processes. Production of recovered sulfur has become more significant as increasingly sour feedstocks are utilized and environmental regulations concerning emissions and waste streams have continued to tighten worldwide. Whereas recovered sulfur represented only 5% of the total sulfur production ia 1950, as of 1996 recovered sulfur represented approximately two-thirds of total sulfur production (1). Recovered sulfur could completely replace native sulfur production ia the twenty-first century (2). 

As worldwide attention has been focused on the dangers of acid rain, the demand to reduce sulfur dioxide [7446-09-5] emissions has risen. Several processes have been developed to remove and recover sulfur dioxide. Sulfur can be recovered from sulfur dioxide as Hquid sulfur dioxide, sulfuric acid, or elemental sulfur. As for the case of hydrogen sulfide, sulfur dioxide removal processes are categorized as adsorption, absorption, or conversion processes. 

Liade AG offers the Clintox process for sulfur dioxide removal. This process uses a physical solvent to absorb the sulfur dioxide. A concentrated sulfur dioxide stream is produced by regeneration. The Clintox process can be iategrated with the Claus process by recovering sulfur dioxide from the iaciaerated tail gases and recycling the sulfur dioxide to the front of the Claus unit. 

An electrostatic precipitator is used to remove more tar from coke oven gas. The tar is then sent to storage. Ammonia liquor is also separated from the tar decanter and sent to wastewater treatment after ammonia recovery. Coke oven gas is further cooled in a final cooler. Naphthalene is removed in a separator on the final cooler. Light oil is then removed from the coke oven gas and is fractionated to recover benzene, toluene, and xylene. Some facilities may include an onsite tar distillation unit. The Claus process is normally used to recover sulfur from coke oven gas. During the coke quenching, handling, and screening operation, coke breeze is produced. The breeze is either reused on site (e.g., in the sinter plant) or sold offsite as a by-product. 

Recover sulfur from coke oven gas. Recycle Claus tail gas into coke oven gas system. 

Since the Claus process by itself removes only about 90% of the hydrogen sulfide in the gas stream, the Beaven, SCOT, or Wellman-Lord processes are often used to further recover sulfur. In the Beaven process, the hydrogen sulfide in the relatively low concentration gas stream from the Claus process can be almost completely removed by absorption in a quinone solution. 

Recover sulfur from tail gases in high-efficiency sulfur recovery units. 

Fluid bed boilers have also been applied as a cure to sulfur dioxide air pollution from power plants. Various schemes have been developed in which combustion of a sulfur containing fuel takes place in a fluidized bed of particles which absorb or react with sulfur dioxide. The particles are usually regenerated to recover sulfur, which often has enough by-product value to make a significant contribution to process economics. 

The ingenious process of melting suhlerranean sulfur with superheated water and forcing it to the surface with compressed air was devised and perfected by Herman Frasch in the period 1891-4. Oiiginally designed to overcome the problems of recovering sulfur from the caprock of salt domes far below the swamps and quicksands of Louisiana, the method is now also extensively used elsewhere To extract native sulfiu. ... 

Currently, sulfur is mainly produced by the partial oxidation of hydrogen sulfide through the Claus process. The major sources of hydrogen sulfide are natural gas and petroleum refinery streams treatment operations. It has been estimated that 90-95% of the world s recovered sulfur is produced through the Claus process. Typical sulfur recovery ranges from 90% for a lean acid gas feed to 97% for a rich acid gas feed. ... 

Hydrogen sulfide, a coproduct, is used to recover sulfur by the Claus reaction. A CS2 yield of 85-90% based on methane is anticipated. An alternative route for CS2 is by the reaction of liquid sulfur with charcoal. However, this method is not used very much. 

So far, the techniques to recover sulfur have all related to sulfur in the form of H2S. Consider now how sulfur in the form of S02 can be dealt with. Sulfur dioxide can be reacted with limestone to produce solid calcium sulfate (gypsum), according to the equations11 ... 

BOSAC [Bofors Sulfuric Acid Concentrator] A process for recovering sulfuric acid from the production of nitro-compounds. Spent acid is concentrated by distillation, using a heat exchanger with externally heated silica tubes. Developed by Bofors Nobel Chemikur, Sweden. Douren, L., Making the Most of Sulfuric Acid, More, A. I., Ed., British Sulphur, London, 1982, 317. 

Chance Also called Chance-Claus. A process for recovering sulfur from the calcium sulfide residues from the Leblanc process. Treatment of a suspension of the residues with carbon dioxide generates hydrogen sulfide, which is converted to sulfur dioxide by the Claus proces. The sulfur dioxide is converted to sulfuric acid. Developed by A. M. and J. F. Chance 1882 to 1887 and widely used until the Leblanc process was superseded by the Solvay process. 

CLINSULF DO [Direct oxidation] A process for recovering sulfur from gas streams containing low concentrations of hydrogen sulfide, under conditions where the conventional Claus process is not applicable. It can recover sulfur over a wider range than direct oxidation scrubbers. Operated in Austria and South Korea. 

Haines A process for recovering sulfur from natural gas, using a zeolite adsorbent. The hydrogen sulfide in the gas is adsorbed on the zeolite when the bed is saturated, hot sulfur dioxide is passed through it. The zeolite catalyzes the reaction between hydrogen sulfide and sulfur dioxide to fonn elemental sulfur, which sublimes out and is condensed. The process was invented by H. W. Haines in 1960 it was developed by Krell Associates and piloted in Canada from 1961 to 1962, but not commercialized because of problems caused by fouling of the zeolite with heavy hydrocarbons. 

Mond A process for recovering sulfur from the residues from the Leblanc process. The sulfur is partially oxidized to thiosulfate and converted to elemental sulfur by adding hydrochloric acid. This process recovers only half the sulfur it was supplanted by the Chance process. Invented by L. Mond and operated by the Netham Chemical Company at Bristol from 1868 to 1888. 

MTE A process for recovering sulfur from acid gases, based on the Claus process, but using a circulating, powdered catalyst instead of the usual fixed catalyst bed. Developed in 1987 but not yet commercialized. 

Miiller-Kiihne A process for recovering sulfuric acid from phosphogypsum, the waste product from the manufacture of phosphoric acid. The process is economic only if the lime co-product is converted to cement. Based on the work of W. S. Muller and H. H. Kiihne at Bayer, Leverkusen, from 1915 to 1918. Further developed in Germany in the 1950s and still in operation in Germany and Austria in 1989. 

PS Claus A process for recovering sulfur from waste gases by a combination of the Pressure swing process and the Claus process. 

SARP [Sulphuric acid recovery process] A method for recovering sulfuric acid which has been used for alkylation, for re-use. The acid is reacted with propylene, yielding dipropyl sulfate, which is extracted from the acid tar with isobutane. It is not necessary to hydrolyze the sulfate to sulfuric acid because the sulfate itself is an active alkylation catalyst. 

Schaffner Also called Schaffner-Helbig. A process for recovering sulfur from the residues from the Leblanc process. Operated in Aussig, Bohemia, in the 1860s. See also Mond. 

WSA [Wet gas sulphuric acid] A process for recovering sulfur from flue-gases and other gaseous effluents in the form of concentrated sulfuric acid. It can be used in conjunction with the SCR process if oxides of nitrogen are present too. The sulfur dioxide is catalytically oxidized to sulfur trioxide, and any ammonia, carbon monoxide, and carbonaceous combustibles are also oxidized. The sulfur trioxide is then hydrolyzed to sulfuric acid under conditions which produce commercial quality 95 percent acid. Developed by Haldor Topsoe 15 units were commissioned between 1980 and 1995. See also SNOX. 

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