Sulfinol process Shell

Shell Sulfinol Process Di-isopropanolamine Dissolved in Sulfolane Water... 

The Shell Sulfinol process removes H2S, C02) COS (carbonyl sulfide), and organic sulfur compounds from natural gas by scrubbing with di-isopropanolamine dissolved in a mixture of sulfolane (C4H8SO2) and water. It was developed in the 1960 s by Shell. In 1997, over 200 commercial units were operating or under construction1. 

Table 5.34. Shell Sulfinol Process Typical Operating Data260...

Shell Sulfinol Process, Shell Global Solutions, Shell Oil Products Company, Houston, Texas, 2003 (www.sulfinol.com). 

Sulfur content of the feedstock presents no serious problem for SGP high-sulfur (e.g., 5%wt S) petroleum residues can serve as SGP feedstocks. The H2S and COS can be readily removed from the SGP product gas by any one of several well-proven desulfurization processes such as the Shell Sulfinol Process. 

The Shell Sulfinol Process is used for removal of acidic constituents such as H2S, CO2, COS, etc. from a gas stream. Improved performance over other processes is due to the use of an organic solvent, Sulfolane (tetrahydrothiophene dioxide), mixed with an aqueous alkanolamine. Relative proportions of Sulfolane, alkanolamine, and water, as well as the operating conditions, are tailored for each specific application. Simultaneous physical and chemical absorption under feed gas conditions is provided by this Sulfinol solvent. Regeneration is accomplished by release of the acidic constituents at near atmospheric pressure and a somewhat elevated temperature. The flow scheme (Figure 4) is very similar to that of an aqueous alkanolamine system since it involves only absorption, regeneration and heat exchange under typical alkanolamine treater conditions. 

The Sullinol process, developed by Shell in the early 1960s, is a combination process that uses a mixture of amines and a physical solvent. The Shell Sulfinol process is a regenerable amine process for acid gas removal. As the process uses a mixture of water, sulfolane, and one or more alkanolamine, removal capacity of COS, mercaptan s, and organic sulfides from gas streams is excellent by virtue of the improved physical solubility of these compounds in the solvent. A typical flow diagram of sulfinol process is shown in Figure 5.29.196... 

The use of solvent mixtures helps to combine tbe chemical and physical effects of absorption. This mainly involves the fallowing systems methanol and etbanolamines (Lurgi Amisol processes), sulfolane and diisopropyiamine (Shell Sulfinol process). 

The Sulfinol process from Shell Development Company is a good example of the physical/chemical type of process. It blends a physical solvent and an amine to obtain the advantages of both. The physical solvent is Sulfolane (tetrahydrothiophene dioxide) and the amine is usually DIPA (diisopropanol amine). The flow scheme is the same as for an amine plant. ... 

Licensed by Shell the Sulfinol process combines the properties of a physical and a chemical solvent. The Sulfinol solution consists of a mixture of sulfolane (tetrahydrothiophene 1-1 dioxide), which is a physical solvent, diisopropanolamine (DIPA), and water. DIPA is a chemical solvent that was discussed under the amines. 

Sulfolane A process for removing aromatic hydrocarbons from petroleum fractions by liquid-liquid extraction using sulfolane (tetramethylene sulfone tetrahydrothiophene-1,1-dioxide) at approximately 190°C. Developed by Shell Development Company in 1959 and first commercialized in 1962 now licensed through UOP. It replaced the Udex process. Sulfolane is used for another purpose in the Sulfinol process. 

The synthesis gas product from the Shell Gasification Process (SGP) unit is treated for sulfur removal in a Shell Sulfinol unit. The CO-Shift unit includes high-temperature shift cata-... 

SHELL GASIFICATION PROCESS AND SULFINOL PRODUCT GAS COMPOSITIONS AND RATES... 

Shell also offers for license a -selective version of the Shell ADIP Process. The ADIP process, which has a flow scheme very similar to Sulfinol, can be used to treat the Sulfinol acid gas to raise the H2S concentration by selectively rejecting the CO2. Some integration of the SCOT process with the ADIP process is often possible thus, reducing overall equipment and operating costs. Costs for the Claus plant are substantially reduced when "selective" ADIP is applied. Two selective ADIP plants are scheduled to come on stream in the first half of 1979. 

Combinations of physical and chemical absorption are also used, as in Shell s Sulfinol process in which a mixture of diisopropanolamine and sulfolane in water is utilized. For the hydrogen sulfide-free gases from the steam-reforming process, chemical scrubbing with activated potassium carbonate solutions or alkanolamines is preferred. In the case of hydrogen sulfide-containing gases from the partial oxidation process, physical absorption alone or in combination with chemical absorption is preferred. 

Figure 2.21 shows a schematic of Shell s Sulfinol process, which removes H2S, COS, RSH, and C02 from refinery offgases or natural gases [38]. The process is also applicable to gas cleanup of synthetic and refinery gases. The total sulfur content in the treated gas can be reduced to ultra low ppm levels. 

Figure 2.21 Schematic of Shell s Sulfinol process. Source [38].

In another class of process usually referred to as mixed solvent processes, an amine is blended with a physical solvent so that the bulk removal capabilities of the physical solvent are combined with the amine s ability to achieve very low residual acid-gas specifications in a single treating step. These processes are typified by Shell s Sulfinol Process. 

The Sulfinol proce.ss is licensed by the Shell Oil Company in the U.S. and by Shell International Petroleum Maatschappij (SIPM) in the Netherlands. The process has found wide application in the treatment of natural, refinery, and synthesis gases. The Sulfinol process can meet the requirement for deep CO2 removal to 50 ppm for LNG plants, as well as the opposite extreme of bulk CO2 removal using flash regeneration. Table 14 21 shows the ranges of feed gas composition and conditions and of treated gas purity specifications of licensed Sulfinol plants (Shell, 1992). In 1996, more than 180 commercial units were reported to be in operation or under construction (Shell, 1996). 

The sulfinol process is a development by the Shell Development Corp., in Emoryville, California (U.S. Patent 3,352,631). 2 solution consists of sulfolane (C4H8SO2), which is a ring compound, diisopropanol-amine, and water. This process is characterized by its high CO2 retention under pressure and by low steam requirements for regeneration. A sidestream regenerator is required to remove by-products that build up in the system. See U.S. Patent 3,347,621. ... 

The Sulfinol gas conditioning process of Shell uses dksopropanolamine in a sulfolane solvent system. This system also increases gas capacity with improved efficiencies (152). 

Sulfinol A process for removing hydrogen sulfide, carbon dioxide, carboi rl sulfide, and oiganic sulfur compounds from natural gas by scrabbing with di-isopropanolamine dissolved in a mixture of sulfolane and water. Developed in the 1960s by Shell International Research Mij N.V, The Netherlands and Shell Development Company, Honston. In 1996, over 180 commercial nnits were operating or nnder constraction. 

Shell considers that the Sulfinol-X process is the best choice in the applications of removal of H2S, C02, COS, mercaptans, and organic sulfides from gas streams,... 

As one of the main gas processing technology providers. Shell is constantly developing and improving solutions to meet the changing requirements of the industry. This means improving standard line-ups with removal of sulphur components and CO2 by conventional amines or Sulfinol solvents and application of adsorption steps for the removal of mercaptans and mercury. It also means completely new and innovative concepts are required to optimize production. 

The Shell Oil Sulfinol-M process removes sulfur (mostly as H2S) from the coal gas. This process uses a mixture of MDEA and a physical solvent. It has advantages over processes that use only physical solvents because it avoids refrigeration, flash gas recompression, and large electricity requirements (36). A Claus process then converts the H2S to by-product liquid elemental sulfur. A Shell Oil SCOT system processes the Claus tailgas for higher sulfur recovery efficiency. The overall sulfur recovery is about 99%, leaving less than 120 ppmv of total sulfur in the purified coal gas. The low sulfur levels in the coal gas allow low stack temperatures without acid dew point corrosion. 

Shell Oil Company, and Shell International Research Mij. B.V., 1996, Sulfinol, Hydro. Process, Gas Processes 96, April, p. 142. 

---