On the causes of unpleasant odors in sulfur plants and their treatment methods
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This post was last edited by liaifeng on 2018-9-1 at 12:31. As the \"recycling station\" of a refinery, sulfur treatment units inevitably generate some unpleasant odors. I wonder what sources of such odors exist in everyone’s units, and how are those issues addressed to improve the surrounding environment? I hope everyone can exchange ideas, learn together, and improve the working environment. Let me start by offering some initial thoughts: The sulfur processing unit in our facility is a combined system for acidic water stripping, solvent regeneration, and sulfur recovery. There are two storage tanks with a capacity of 1,000 m3 each for acidic water. The acidic water supplied from upstream units contains light oils, as well as certain amounts of sulfides and thiol compounds. Although there are water-sealing tanks and oil-skimming operations are carried out regularly, these measures are not very effective; unpleasant odors still persist at the site. Recently, in collaboration with the design firm, a new exhaust gas deodorization system was installed. This system deodorizes the exhaust gases from the acidic water storage tanks before sending them to the low-pressure gas network for reuse, which has significantly improved the environmental conditions at the site. If anyone has a good way to eliminate unpleasant odors from their devices, please speak up!
This post was last edited by notemper on 2017-8-8 at 11:10. The deaerated water is then fed into the raw water tank, thereby reducing the load on the deodorization and water seal systems.
The main sources of pollution in acid water stripping units include: one is the gas emitted from the tanks containing sulfur-containing wastewater; the conventional approach is to channel this gas into the low-pressure gas pipeline network； In addition, oil storage tanks need to be sealed, and shield pumps with good sealing properties should be used to reduce leaks; the tanks should be purged before maintenance is carried out, to prevent uncontrolled discharge of sulfur-containing wastewater, and in some cases, sealed sampling devices are employed. The main sources of pollution in solvent regeneration units include emissions from the solvent buffer tank vents; these gases consist mainly of nitrogen used for sealing, but also contain other pollutants ； Additionally, underground solvent tanks also need to be properly sealed; there are likewise issues such as pump leaks, maintenance, and liquid level sampling. For sulfur plants, special attention should be paid to the treatment of sulfur-containing waste gases in the liquid sulfur tank, minor leaks of acidic gases, the sealing of sulfur seal tanks, and the emission of waste gases from the sulfur molding machine.
The most troublesome issues with our equipment are these; the oily waste tank has been a persistent problem. This time, we are reselecting the seals for the oily waste pump, hoping that things will improve after this change.
I would like to ask if there are any good methods for sealing sulfur-sealed tanks? The sulfur-sealed area at our site always has an odor, and the PTFE gaskets used in the past also did not provide a proper seal.
The liquid sulfur observation port of the sulfur-sealed tank can be removed.
So, how is the flow property of the sulfur seal checked on a regular basis? Although the sulfur blockage is quickly reflected in the system pressure, the lack of a direct observation port still makes one feel uneasy.