Thirty Years of Operating Experience with the Clauspol Process

C. Barrere-Tricca (1) , D. H. Smith (1) , J. P. Margotin (2)

1 IFPEN - IFP Energies nouvelles
2 Procatalyse

The Clauspol process, developed by IFP over thirty years ago, is a Claus Tail Gas Treatment (TGT) process. Because of its simplicity, ease of operation and low cost, the process has gained more than 40 industrial references worldwide, making it one of the most widespread TGT processes. From the beginning, the process operability and technology have been continuously improved to the point where the latest version, Clauspol Booster 99. 9+, enables combined Claus-Clauspol sulfur recoveries exceeding 99. 9% to be achieved. In arriving at the current performance levels, the following operational issues concerning industrial Clauspol plants were resolved:- corrosion encountered in some of the first Clauspol plants is now well understood and is avoided by applying simple rules in the unit's design, construction and operation;- the catalyst stability has been improved by both lowering the temperature of the solvent, replacing direct injection of water by a heat exchanger, changing the initial catalyst formulation and improving control of H2S/SO2 ratio in the Claus tail gas;- sulfur product quality is assured by eliminating oxygen in the Clauspol feed via installation of an oxygen-scavenging catalyst layer in the first Claus converter, with particular attention to the sulfur boot design, by a regular control of the liquid level in the bottom of the reactor and also by ensuring good control of H2S/SO2 ratio;- with experience, the procedure of water-washing of the reactor every two to four years has become much simpler. Furthermore, new R&D results show that accumulations of solids in the reactor could be prevented, eliminating the need for periodic shutdowns and reducing the size of the reactor. The above issues are discussed in this article.

Domaines: Physique [physics]

C. Barrere-Tricca, D. H. Smith, J. P. Margotin. Thirty Years of Operating Experience with the Clauspol Process. Oil & Gas Science and Technology - Revue d'IFP Energies nouvelles, 2001, 56 (2), pp.199-206. ⟨10.2516/ogst:2001019⟩. ⟨hal-02053889⟩