New Low-Temperature Hydrogenation Catalyst Boosts TGTU Efficiency

摘要

Most Claus sulfur recovery units include a reduction-based Tail Gas Treatment Unit (TGTU) that enables overall sulfur recovery yields above 99.8% to be achieved. The basic concept employed by these units is to hydrogenate all sulfur-containing species to H2S, which is in turn recycled to the Claus furnace. Various commercially available processes such as SCOT, Resulf, BSR, RAR, and HCR make use of a catalytic reduction section. The reduction step is typically performed at start-of-run temperatures around 280 °C (540 deg F) through catalyst end-of-life temperatures of up to 320 °C (610 deg F). This implies that the tail gas leaving the sulfur condenser in the Claus unit must be heated prior to entering the catalytic converter.