Foster Wheelers newly acquired sulfur recovery
technology brings clear advantages to its refinery customers. The
technology provides a smaller footprint, as well as
cost-effective designs with enhanced operability
features. Included in the proprietary technology is a
Claus unit burner that is capable of destroying ammonia up to
25 mole % in the SRU feed, and providing low level oxygen
enrichment up to 28 mole %. The units typically deliver
overall sulfur recovery efficiencies ranging from 96% to 99.95%
and higher, whereas efficiencies of other sulfur removal technology, for Claus type units,
trend a bit lower.
In December 2010, Foster Wheeler acquired this sulfur recovery
technology. The personnel
employed at the new Foster Wheeler Salt Lake City, Utah, office
are knowledgeable in the design of SRU unit operations,
including Claus units, tail gas treating units, tail gas
incinerators, sulfur storage, sulfur degassing, sulfur pit vent
disposition, sour liquid or gas amine absorbers, amine regenerators,
sour water strippers, sulfur condensers and waste heat boilers,
as well as hazardous waste incineration, natural gas processing
and general refinery unit operations.
Coupled with the small footprint, our design offers reduced
piping runs that are completely free draining. Lower
corrosion and reduced pressure drop are clear benefits from the
reduced pipe routing, which results in lower Capex and enhanced
operability and maintenance.
Furthermore, all sulfur condenser passes (except the final
pass) are typically routed through a single shell, based on
unit capacity. We have also successfully designed units
in which the thermal reactor waste heat boiler was also
included with the sulfur condenser, in a single shell.
The mechanical expertise required for reliable and safe design
of the waste heat boiler and sulfur condenser tubesheets, as
well as the partitioning of the condenser passes in the boiler
plenums, has been developed through many years of
experience. Steam pressures ranging from 50 psig to 600
psig are available, and each plant is designed to be
self-sustaining in steam usage during normal operation.
According to Foster Wheeler, these proven, innovative designs
help to set its technology apart from the rest.
This sulfur technology is currently operating
all over the world, in North America, South America, Europe and Asia. Currently,
Foster Wheeler is performing basic engineering of sulfur
recovery units for two refineries in South America, each with
an MDEA amine tail gas
treating unit followed by tail gas incineration.
Other current design work includes sour water stripping units
for upstream oil and gas production, to remove the H2S from a
produced water stream.