Process Intensification Opportunities in Sulfur Recovery Units

Process Intensification (PI) is an engineering approach to improve processing efficiency and reducing equipment costs and size simultaneously. The processes involved with high energy consumption and relatively low efficiencies could be subjected as the first priority of process intensification. Sulfur Recovery Unit (SRU) in petroleum and natural gas refineries is a side-treatment unit to avoid flaring rich-acid gas and recovery of sulfur compounds as the elemental form. High energy consumption, and large equipment consideration, makes the SRU process feasible for intensification. In this paper applicability and technical feasibility of process intensification is discussed for each operation unit of SRU separately. The works done and similar experiences show that the intensified SRU could have an improved functionality with lower energy consumptions and higher efficiencies.