Claus process

E883896

The Claus process is an industrial chemical method used to recover elemental sulfur from hydrogen sulfide–rich gas streams, particularly in natural gas and petroleum refining operations.

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Statements (50)

Predicate Object
instanceOf industrial chemical process
sulfur recovery process
appliedTo acid gas from amine treating units
refinery off-gas
sour natural gas
byProduct water vapor
canBeFollowedBy tail gas treating process
catalyticStageTemperatureRange 200–350 °C
commerciallyImportantSince early 20th century
commonConfiguration cold-bed adsorption Claus unit
split-flow Claus unit
straight-through Claus unit
contributesTo production of elemental sulfur for sulfuric acid manufacture
controls SO2 to H2S ratio
developedInCentury 19th century
environmentalRole mitigation of sulfur emissions
feedstock acid gas
hydrogen sulfide
hasStage catalytic stage
thermal stage
keyReaction 2 H2S + 3 O2 → 2 SO2 + 2 H2O
2 H2S + SO2 → 3 S + 2 H2O
mainPurpose recovery of elemental sulfur
namedAfter Carl Friedrich Claus NERFINISHED
numberOfCatalyticStages 2–3 GENERATED
operatesContinuously true
operatingPressureRange near atmospheric to several bar
overallStoichiometry 3 H2S + 1.5 O2 → 3 S + 3 H2O
product elemental sulfur
reducesEmissionOf hydrogen sulfide
sulfur dioxide
regulatedBy air pollution control regulations
requires Claus reactor
combustion air
combustion chamber
sulfur condenser
sulfur pit or sulfur storage
waste heat boiler
thermalStageTemperatureRange 1000–1400 °C
treats hydrogen sulfide–rich gas streams
typicalSO2ToH2SRatio 1:2 GENERATED
typicalSulfurRecoveryEfficiency 94–97 percent GENERATED
usedInIndustry coal gasification plants
natural gas processing
petrochemical industry
petroleum refining
refinery gas treating units
usesCatalyst activated alumina
bauxite
titanium dioxide

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Lacq gas field sulfurRecoveryProcess Claus process