On the operational flexibility of sulfur recovery units
Thread Content
As the title suggests, while reviewing a document, I found that the operating range of the exhaust gas recovery unit in a sulfur recovery system is actually 15%-110%! The sulfur production capacity is 30%-110%! The upper limit is understandable, but what about the lower limit? Especially as low as 15%? Do those with practical experience know about this? Could you give some advice? In practice, does such a situation really occur? Thank you!
For sulfur recovery units, operating at low load is a common occurrence. Generally, the operating flexibility of such devices is between 30% and 110%, but some devices are designed to operate at a minimum load of 15%. This is mainly due to the increasingly strict environmental regulations, which prohibit the discharge of acidic gases into flares. This requires that low-load operating conditions be fully considered during design; for example, two sets of measuring instruments can be selected. Under low load conditions, select instruments with a low flow rate ； High load requires the use of standard instruments.
A 15% load is acceptable.
The hydrogen sulfide content in the feed to the tail gas recovery unit affects the load on the sulfur recovery unit. There is a basis for such a design
The key lies in the performance of the burner; a good burner can burn properly at 15% load. Additionally, system heat loss must be taken into account to maintain a normal furnace temperature. So there is no unified standard.
For the sulfur unit, it seems that operating at a load level between 70 and 90 is the most convenient. When the load is too low, the furnace temperature drops, which leads to an increase in emissions; the temperature rise in the hydrogenation section also increases significantly!