Investigating efficiency improvement in sulfur recovery unit using process simulation and numerical modeling

IF 1.8 4区工程技术 Q4 ENERGY & FUELS

Oil & Gas Science and Technology – Revue d’IFP Energies nouvelles Pub Date : 2021-01-01 DOI:10.2516/OGST/2020093

Farhad Fazlollahi, Sajjad Asadizadeh, Milad Ahmadi Khoshooei, M. R. S. Birjandi, M. Sarkari

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引用次数: 2

Abstract

Hydrogen sulfide exists mostly as a detrimental byproduct in the gas processing units as well as refineries, and it must be eliminated from natural gas streams. In a Sulfur Recovery Unit (SRU), hydrogen sulfide is converted into the elemental sulfur during the modified Claus process. Efficiency of sulfur recovery units significantly depends on the reaction furnace temperature. In this work, the effect of oxygen and acid gas enrichment on the reaction furnace temperature and accordingly on sulfur recovery is studied, using both numerical modeling and process simulation. Then, simulation and numerical model are benchmarked against the experimental data of an SRU unit. The validated model provides spotlight on optimizing the upstream sulfur removal unit as well as the oxygen purification process. Two cases of acid gas streams with low and high H2S content, 30% and 50%, are studied to investigate the effect of operating parameters on the overall recovery. Finally, average errors of the models are presented. According to the absolute difference with experimental values, the developed numerical model shows great potential for accurately estimating overall efficiency of the recovery unit.

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采用过程模拟和数值模拟的方法对硫磺回收装置的效率改进进行了研究

硫化氢主要作为有害的副产品存在于天然气处理装置和炼油厂中，必须从天然气流中消除。在硫回收装置(SRU)中，硫化氢在改进的克劳斯过程中转化为单质硫。硫回收装置的效率在很大程度上取决于反应炉温度。本文采用数值模拟和过程模拟两种方法，研究了氧和酸性气体富集对反应炉温度的影响以及相应的对硫回收率的影响。然后，以某SRU装置的实验数据为基准，对仿真和数值模型进行了对比。验证的模型为优化上游除硫装置和氧净化工艺提供了重点。研究了H2S含量分别为30%和50%的高、低酸性气体流，考察了操作参数对总采收率的影响。最后给出了模型的平均误差。从与实验值的绝对差值来看，所建立的数值模型在准确估计采油机组整体效率方面具有很大的潜力。

本文章由计算机程序翻译，如有差异，请以英文原文为准。

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来源期刊

Oil & Gas Science and Technology – Revue d’IFP Energies nouvelles 工程技术-工程：化工

CiteScore

2.70

自引率

0.00%

发文量

审稿时长

2.7 months

期刊介绍： OGST - Revue d''IFP Energies nouvelles is a journal concerning all disciplines and fields relevant to exploration, production, refining, petrochemicals, and the use and economics of petroleum, natural gas, and other sources of energy, in particular alternative energies with in view of the energy transition. OGST - Revue d''IFP Energies nouvelles has an Editorial Committee made up of 15 leading European personalities from universities and from industry, and is indexed in the major international bibliographical databases. The journal publishes review articles, in English or in French, and topical issues, giving an overview of the contributions of complementary disciplines in tackling contemporary problems. Each article includes a detailed abstract in English. However, a French translation of the summaries can be provided to readers on request. Summaries of all papers published in the revue from 1974 can be consulted on this site. Over 1 000 papers that have been published since 1997 are freely available in full text form (as pdf files). Currently, over 10 000 downloads are recorded per month. Researchers in the above fields are invited to submit an article. Rigorous selection of the articles is ensured by a review process that involves IFPEN and external experts as well as the members of the editorial committee. It is preferable to submit the articles in English, either as independent papers or in association with one of the upcoming topical issues.