Improved Claus Tail Gas Treatment Process

103 Improved Claus Tail Gas Treatment Process--TDA Research, Inc., 12345 West 52nd Avenue, Wheat Ridge, CO 80033-1916; (303) 940-2301 Dr. Girish Srinivas, Principal Investigator Mr. Michael Karpuk, Business Official DOE Grant No. DE-FG03-97ER82498 Amount: $75,000 Natural gas provides almost a third of the energy consumed in the US and its use is expected to increase because of its low cost, easy handling and usage, and low emissions. Natural gas can be contaminated by nitrogen (N2), carbon dioxide (CO2) and hydrogen sulfide (H2S). Therefore, CO2, N2 and H2S removal are the main processes in natural gas processing plants. The most common method of H2S, the so called amine + Claus + SCOT processes, recycles some of the CO2 back to the Claus units, along with the H2S, reducing Claus capacity. This project is to develop an improved tail gas treatment process that can be conveniently used (as a retrofit) in place of the existing Claus + SCOT plants. The process increases the Claus capacity by eliminating the CO2 recycled from the tail gas treatment plant. In Phase I of the project the feasibility of the new process will be demonstrated, and an engineering analysis will be undertaken to compare the new tail gas treatment process with the conventional SCOT process. In Phase II, a pilot plant will be fabricated and operated to demonstrate the commercial potential of the technology. Commercial Applications and other Benefits as described by the awardee: The new process has the potential to conveniently increase the sulfur capacity of existing Claus plants and reduce the cost of sulfur recovery. Keywords: Gas processing, CO2, H2S, natural gas, Claus, SCOT