What are the differences between imported catalysts and domestically produced catalysts for the Claus unit and exhaust gas treatment units in sulfur recovery?

Regarding the Claus tail gas hydrogenation process, it is rare to see foreign versions being used; the difference lies in the price, with everything else being the same. That’s all!

The exhaust gas treatment device you mentioned is the kind that treats hydrogen sulfide in exhaust gases

For CLAUS catalysts based on alumina, their activity should be more or less similar; if a comparison is to be made, it might be in terms of service life and resistance to poisoning. High-quality foreign products should hold a dominant position. Titanium-based; foreign products have a higher titanium content and fewer impurities. It can be said that titanium-based products from abroad have a clear advantage. For exhaust gas hydrogenation, cryogenic agents are becoming increasingly popular; they are available in aluminum-based and titanium-based forms, with foreign-made agents possibly having greater advantages. Those from abroad have better low-temperature activity, a higher hydrolysis rate of organic sulfur, as well as improved resistance to oxidation and poisoning. All of the above are just hearsay; they are purely personal opinions. Just like when selling goods, people all promote the advantages of their own products; overall, the difference isn’t significant. Some foreign manufacturers are entering the domestic market, offering quite competitive prices; it seems they are not much more expensive than those available domestically. To conduct a proper comparison, it seems that research institutions will need to use experimental and analytical data for evaluation.

When designing, is domestic production taken into consideration, or are imported products given priority?

The catalysts are the same; there’s no difference in the equipment, and the process remains identical – it’s only the reagents that differ

The Klaus unit uses an alumina catalyst; a catalyst simply serves to accelerate reaction rates. Its quality is determined by its resistance to oxidation and poisoning, as well as by its service life. The Scott unit employs a cobalt-molybdenum catalyst, which is slightly more expensive. This catalyst is chosen for use in that unit mainly due to its hydrolysis properties

I think import process packages necessarily require imported reagents, while domestic designs generally opt for domestically produced reagents.

Klaus catalysts (also known in China as sulfur production catalysts or sulfur recovery catalysts) are generally divided into aluminum-based and titanium-based types. Among aluminum-based catalysts, well-known ones abroad include BASF’s DD431 and AXENS’ CR and CR-3S. These three catalysts generally have an active alumina content of over 99%; they are of higher purity and have a larger specific surface area, which gives them slightly better performance. Domestic catalysts can also meet the requirements of regular industrial installations, with conversion rates and other technical parameters being on par with those of foreign catalysts, but their purity and specific surface area do not reach foreign standards. Additionally, AXENS’ AM catalyst is also aluminum-based, but it is impregnated with iron oxide, which gives it strong resistance to oxygen leakage and sulfate attack; the performance of such oxygen-resistant catalysts in China is essentially no different from that abroad. For titanium-based catalysts, the titanium dioxide content in domestic products is generally around 85%, while BASF’s catalysts achieve a content of over 90%. The hydrolysis efficiency is slightly higher as well; the difference lies in the hydrolysis rate, which is above 95% in domestic products and above 97% in foreign ones. Tailpipe hydrogenation catalysts; currently, low-temperature tailpipe catalysts are popular. Catalysts such as AXENS’ TG-107 exhibit better low-temperature performance than those available in China, with more optimal hydrolysis and hydrogenation effects; there is still a significant gap between such catalysts in China and those abroad.

However, for ordinary exhaust gas hydrogenation catalysts, namely those that require an inlet temperature of around 280 degrees in the exhaust gas hydrogenation reactor, there is no difference in performance when used domestically or internationally.