Kinetic Modeling Study of the Industrial Sulfur Recovery Process for Operating Condition Optimization

Sulfur recovery from acid gas (H2S and CO2), which is contained in fresh natural gas, can bring many economic and environmental benefits, and this topic has been studied for years. Finding an optimal operating condition for the factory is of much importance. In this paper, we built a reactor network analysis model with a detailed mechanism to describe and calculate the process in the sulfur recovery unit. This detailed mechanism included 94 species and 615 elementary reactions. Our model has a more accurate residence time than other existing models. This simulation model was verified with industrial data, and the calculation result was highly consistent with the industrial data and more accurate than other approaches. Then, we used this reactor network analysis model to study the effect of the excess air coefficient, the thermal reactor temperature, and the temperature of cooling water on the sulfur recovery efficiency of a real device in the Puguang gas field. The result showed the excess air coefficient and thermal reactor temperature had a clear impact on sulfur recovery efficiency. After analysis, we got the optimum condition parameters for this device. At last, these parameters were tested in the real sulfur recovery device, and the result was reasonable. Our research provides a way to improve the sulfur recovery process in the industry, and it can be helpful to reduce pollution emissions and improve economic performance.