Simulation and Optimization of the Claus Unconventional Split-Flow Process
GUO Songling, ZHOU Fan, TAO Xun, GAO Yunfei, DING Lu, WANG Fuchen
National Engineering Research Center of CWS Gasification and Coal Chemical Industry （Shanghai), University of Science and Technology, Shanghai 200237, China
Abstract：The split-flow Claus process was one of the sulfur recovery technologies for efficiently treating lean acid gas. Using unconventional split-flow method in this process could effectively solve problems such as uneven distribution of sulfur recovery load, the presence of free oxygen, and the reduction of equipment and catalyst life. Based on the Aspen Plus software, a model of the Claus process was developed and validated to investigate the effect of the splitting ratio on the Claus process. Effects of acid gas composition, equivalence ratio, oxygen enrichment concentration, preheating temperature and pressure on Claus unconventional split-flow process were investigated, and a variable optimization model was established to achieve a volume ratio of H2S/SO2 was 2 at the confluence point. The results showed that as the splitting ratio increased, the combustion environment of the furnace gradually changed to an oxygen-deficient atmosphere, and the furnace temperature decreased and the Claus reaction started to proceed in the thermal section, and the sulfur recovery load in the catalytic reaction section was shifted to the thermal section. The optimization model achieved both the distribution of sulfur recovery load and the improvement of total sulfur recovery, which could provide abundant operational options for the industrial Claus unconventional splitting process.
GUO Songling,ZHOU Fan,TAO Xun et al. Simulation and Optimization of the Claus Unconventional Split-Flow Process[J]. Chemical Reaction Engineering and Technology, 2023, 39(6): 491-500.
