JP2010235382A - Method for operating sulfur recovery apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a method for operating a sulfur recovery apparatus, by which the discharge amount of air pollutants is sufficiently reduced when an operation is started. <P>SOLUTION: The method for operating the sulfur recovery apparatus includes: a temperature raising process comprising supplying a fuel gas and air in an air/fuel ratio of a theoretical air/fuel ratio or lower to a reaction furnace 12 and raising the temperature of a sulfur recovery part 10 by a combustion gas generated by the combustion of the fuel gas; and a reaction starting process comprising starting the supply of H<SB>2</SB>S to the reaction furnace 12 and burning a portion of the H<SB>2</SB>S when the operation of the sulfur recovery apparatus 1 is started. The sulfur recovery apparatus 1 includes: a sulfur recovery part 10 provided with the reaction furnace 12 for forming SO<SB>2</SB>by burning H<SB>2</SB>S and a first reactor 14 having a first catalyst for forming sulfur by subjecting SO<SB>2</SB>and H<SB>2</SB>S to a Claus reaction; and a gas absorption part 20 provided with a second reactor 34 having a second catalyst for hydrogenating SO<SB>2</SB>formed in the sulfur recovery part 10 and an absorption column 38 for absorbing H<SB>2</SB>S formed by the hydrogenation in an absorption liquid. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2011,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a method for operating a sulfur recovery apparatus.

  In the refining of various petroleum products and petrochemical products, in order to improve product stability, odor, corrosiveness, etc., there is a step of removing sulfur components using an indirect desulfurization apparatus or a direct desulfurization apparatus. Usually, in a desulfurization apparatus, a sulfur component contained in heavy oil, heavy light oil, light light oil, kerosene, naphtha or the like is converted to hydrogen sulfide and removed using a catalyst in the presence of hydrogen. The produced hydrogen sulfide gas is usually converted into sulfur by a Claus reaction after being partially converted to sulfur dioxide in a sulfur recovery device.

  As a specific treatment method of hydrogen sulfide gas in the sulfur recovery device, a part of the hydrogen sulfide gas is burned to produce sulfur dioxide, and this sulfur dioxide and unburned hydrogen sulfide are subjected to a Claus reaction in the presence of a catalyst. The method of producing sulfur and water is adopted. In this way, the sulfur recovery device that performs the treatment of hydrogen sulfide gas normally combusts hydrogen sulfide, performs a Claus reaction, and recovers sulfur, and a surplus generated in the sulfur recovery unit. Sulfur dioxide is heated and reduced with hydrogen in the presence of a catalyst to form hydrogen sulfide. The gas absorption part absorbs the hydrogen sulfide with an absorption liquid and the combustion part burns off-gas from which hydrogen sulfide has been removed.

  FIG. 2 is a schematic configuration diagram for explaining a conventional operation method of the sulfur recovery apparatus. The sulfur recovery device 3 includes a sulfur recovery unit 100, a gas absorption unit 200, and a combustion unit 300. In a normal operation state, hydrogen sulfide gas (acid gas) and air are supplied to the reaction furnace 112 at a predetermined ratio, and part of the hydrogen sulfide burns to generate sulfur oxide (sulfur dioxide). The produced sulfur dioxide and unburned hydrogen sulfide are introduced into the first reactor 114 having a Claus catalyst through the pipe L102. In the first reactor 114, the Claus reaction proceeds to generate sulfur from hydrogen sulfide and sulfur dioxide. The generated sulfur is introduced into the condenser 116 through the pipe L104 together with the unreacted gas containing sulfur dioxide and hydrogen sulfide, and is recovered in a liquid state from the condenser 116.

  On the other hand, unreacted gas (including hydrogen sulfide and sulfur oxide) that has not reacted in the first reactor 114 is introduced into the heater 132 of the gas absorption unit 200 through the pipe L106 and the valve V104. In the steady operation of the sulfur recovery device 3, the valve V102 is closed to prevent the unreacted gas from being combusted in the combustor 139 and releasing air pollutants. The unreacted gas is heated to a predetermined temperature together with the hydrogen gas introduced by the heater 132, and is introduced into the second reactor 134 having the hydrogenation catalyst through the pipe L110. In the second reactor 134, sulfur oxide contained in the unreacted gas is hydrogenated by the action of the hydrogenation catalyst to generate hydrogen sulfide and water. These hydrogen sulfide and water are introduced into the quencher 136 through the pipe L112 together with other by-product gases, and separated into a gas fraction containing hydrogen sulfide and water. The gas fraction separated by the quencher 136 is introduced into the gas absorption tower 138 through the pipe L114 and the pipe L116, and hydrogen sulfide contained in the gas fraction is absorbed by the absorbing liquid supplied through the pipe L124. The absorbing solution that has absorbed hydrogen sulfide is discharged through the pipe L126, and is separated from this absorbing solution by another device. The separated hydrogen sulfide is supplied again to the reaction furnace 112 of the sulfur recovery device 3 in some cases. On the other hand, off-gas (fuel gas) contained in the gas fraction is introduced into the combustor 139 through the pipe L122 and burned.

By the way, sulfur oxide gas (SO _x ) such as sulfur dioxide is known as an air pollutant and has high toxicity. Therefore, it is required to reduce the amount released to the atmosphere as much as possible. For this reason, it is required to reduce as much as possible the amount of sulfur oxide gas generated in the sulfur recovery device to the atmosphere.

  However, when the amount of hydrogen sulfide as a raw material fluctuates and becomes excessive or insufficient, when the operation of the sulfur recovery device is stopped, or when the operation is started thereafter, the load on the sulfur recovery device fluctuates. Thus, it becomes difficult to adjust the operation, and hydrogen sulfide that cannot be processed by the gas absorption unit must be burned by the combustor 139 via the pipe L108. In this case, sulfur oxide gas such as sulfur dioxide is temporarily discharged from the combustor into the atmosphere. As an operation method for suppressing the discharge of air pollutants during such load fluctuations, it has been proposed to inject a combustible gas into the apparatus (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 10-265204

  The sulfur recovery device needs to periodically perform maintenance and repair by opening devices such as a heat exchanger and a heating furnace, and each time a stop operation and a start operation are required. In particular, at the time of an operation start operation in which the load of the sulfur recovery device fluctuates greatly, the amount of sulfur oxide gas discharged from the combustor may be larger than that in the steady operation state. Therefore, there is a need for an operation method that can stably reduce the amount of air pollutants discharged, such as sulfur oxide gas, at the start of operation of the sulfur recovery apparatus.

  The present invention has been made in view of such circumstances, and provides a method for operating a sulfur recovery apparatus capable of sufficiently reducing the emission amount of air pollutants when the operation of the sulfur recovery apparatus is started. With the goal.

  In the present invention, a sulfur recovery unit comprising: a reaction furnace for burning hydrogen sulfide to produce sulfur dioxide; and a first reactor having a first catalyst for producing sulfur by causing a Claus reaction of sulfur dioxide and hydrogen sulfide. And a second reactor having a second catalyst for hydrogenating sulfur dioxide produced in the sulfur recovery unit to produce hydrogen sulfide, and an absorption tower for absorbing the hydrogen sulfide produced in the second reactor into the absorption liquid. A method for operating a sulfur recovery device comprising a gas absorption part, wherein when the operation of the sulfur recovery device is started, air that burns fuel gas together with fuel gas containing hydrogen as a main component in a reaction furnace is stoichiometric air-fuel ratio Hydrogen sulphide to the reactor in a state where the temperature is raised in the sulfur recovery part by the combustion gas generated by burning the fuel gas supplied at the following air-fuel ratio, and the combustion gas is circulated through the gas absorption part Started to supply It provides a method of operating Claus process having a reaction initiation step of combusting at least a portion of the sulfurized hydrocarbons.

  In the operation method of the sulfur recovery apparatus of the present invention, the fuel gas is combusted in a state where the air-fuel ratio of the reactor is equal to or lower than the stoichiometric air-fuel ratio when the temperature of the sulfur recovery unit is raised at the start of operation. For this reason, the temperature in the apparatus can be raised while sufficiently reducing the oxygen concentration in the sulfur recovery apparatus. Since the oxygen concentration in the apparatus is sufficiently reduced in this way, the temperature of the sulfur recovery unit is raised while the sulfur recovery unit and the gas absorption unit are circulated before supplying hydrogen sulfide to the sulfur recovery unit. Also, damage to the second catalyst for the hydrogenation reaction can be suppressed. From the beginning of the supply of hydrogen sulfide, sulfur oxide and hydrogen sulfide discharged from the sulfur recovery unit can be absorbed by the gas absorption unit, and the amount of sulfur oxide gas discharged into the atmosphere at the start of operation Can be sufficiently reduced. Moreover, since sulfur oxide conventionally discharged into the atmosphere can be processed by the sulfur recovery device, the amount of recovered sulfur can be increased.

  In the present invention, in the temperature raising step, it is preferable to raise the temperature while injecting steam together with fuel gas and air into the reactor.

  As a result, the temperature of the sulfur recovery unit can be gradually raised, and the operation of starting the operation of the sulfur recovery device can be performed more smoothly.

  Moreover, in the operating method of this invention, it is preferable to have a preliminary | backup process which heats up a sulfur collection | recovery part and a gas absorption part separately, respectively, before a temperature rising process.

Thereby, the temperature adjustment work of each of the sulfur recovery unit and the gas absorption unit can be facilitated while reducing the work and time required for the operation start operation.

  According to the operation method of the sulfur recovery apparatus of the present invention, the emission amount of air pollutants can be sufficiently reduced at the start of operation.

It is a schematic block diagram of the sulfur collection | recovery apparatus for describing suitable embodiment of the operating method of this invention. It is a schematic block diagram of the sulfur collection | recovery apparatus for demonstrating the conventional operating method.

  In the following, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings as the case may be.

  FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram of a sulfur recovery apparatus for explaining a preferred embodiment of the operation method of the present invention. The sulfur recovery device 1 includes a sulfur recovery unit 10, a gas absorption unit 20, and a combustion unit 30. The operation method of the present embodiment includes a temperature raising step for raising the temperature of the gas absorption unit 20 and raising the temperature of the sulfur recovery unit 10 using the combustion gas generated by burning the fuel gas. A reaction starting step of starting supply of hydrogen sulfide to the reaction furnace 12 and combusting at least a part of the hydrogen sulfide in a state of being circulated through the gas absorption unit 20. Hereinafter, it demonstrates in detail for every process.

(Temperature raising process)
In the temperature raising step, first, the temperature of the gas absorption unit 20 is raised as follows. Along with the fuel gas to the heater 32, air is supplied to the fuel gas at an air-fuel ratio equal to or lower than the stoichiometric air-fuel ratio, and the fuel gas is combusted to generate combustion gas. Here, the stoichiometric air-fuel ratio refers to the mass ratio of air necessary for complete combustion of the fuel gas with respect to the fuel gas, and the air-fuel ratio refers to the mass ratio of air to the fuel gas. The amount of air with respect to the fuel gas in the temperature raising step is preferably 80 to 110% by mass, more preferably 90 to 100% by mass, based on the theoretical air / fuel ratio (100% by mass). If the amount of air supplied to the heater is too large, the oxygen concentration in the gas recovery unit 20 increases and the second catalyst for hydrogenation reaction charged in the second reactor 34 tends to be easily damaged. In the temperature raising step, the valve V4 is closed and the valve V2 is opened. A normal line heater can be used as the heater 32.

  The combustion gas that has passed through the heater 32 is introduced into the second reactor 34 filled with the second catalyst for hydrogenation through the pipe L10. Thereby, the temperature of the second reactor 34 is increased. In the temperature raising step, the second reactor 34 is preferably heated to 250 to 300 ° C. If the temperature of the second reactor 34 after the temperature rise is too low, when the supply of hydrogen sulfide to the reactor 12 is started in the next step, sulfur dioxide hydrogenation does not proceed sufficiently, and sulfur dioxide is discharged. There is a tendency that the amount cannot be reduced sufficiently. On the other hand, if the temperature of the second reactor 34 is too high, the activity of the second catalyst for the hydrogenation reaction charged in the second reactor 34 tends to decrease.

  The combustion gas that has passed through the second reactor 34 is introduced into the quencher 36 through the pipe L12. As the quencher 36, a normal tower or a vessel can be used. In the quencher 36, water generated by cooling the combustion gas can be separated and discharged.

  Part of the combustion gas that has passed through the quencher 36 is introduced into the gas absorption tower 38 via the pipes L14 and L16. Further, part of the combustion gas that has passed through the quencher 36 passes through the pipe L18, the blower 37, and the pipe L20 and is recycled to the heater 32. The combustion gas introduced into the gas absorption tower 38 is introduced into the combustor 39 through the pipe L22 and then discharged into the atmosphere.

  Next, the temperature of the sulfur recovery unit 10 is increased as follows. While injecting steam (water vapor) into the reaction furnace 12, together with the fuel gas, air is supplied to the fuel gas at an air / fuel ratio equal to or lower than the stoichiometric air / fuel ratio to burn the fuel gas to generate combustion gas. Here, the stoichiometric air-fuel ratio refers to the mass ratio of air necessary for complete combustion of the fuel gas with respect to the fuel gas, and the air-fuel ratio refers to the mass ratio of air to the fuel gas. The amount of air with respect to the fuel gas in the temperature raising step is preferably 80 to 110% by mass, and preferably 95 to 105% by mass based on the theoretical air-fuel ratio (100% by mass). If the amount of air supplied to the reaction furnace 12 is too large, the oxygen concentration in the sulfur recovery device 1 increases, and air pollution such as sulfur oxide generated by combustion of sulfur, iron sulfide, etc. adhering inside the sulfur recovery device 1 There is a tendency to increase the amount of substances discharged. Also, when the sulfur recovery unit 10 and the gas absorption unit 20 are connected in the next step, the second catalyst for hydrogenation reaction charged in the second reactor 34 tends to be easily damaged.

  In the temperature raising step, the oxygen concentration at the outlet of the reaction furnace 12 is preferably maintained at 0.01 to 1.0% by mass. When the oxygen concentration exceeds 1.0% by mass, the second catalyst for hydrogenation reaction provided in the second reactor 34 tends to be damaged when the sulfur recovery unit 10 and the gas absorption unit 20 are connected. . Moreover, sulfur, iron sulfide, etc. adhering to the inside of the sulfur recovery apparatus 1 are combusted, and there is a tendency that the amount of emission of air pollutants such as sulfur oxide increases.

  As the fuel gas, it is preferable to use hydrogen gas or various hydrocarbon gases, and it is more preferable to use hydrogen gas. By using hydrogen gas, the deposition of carbon into the sulfur recovery apparatus 1 can be sufficiently suppressed.

  The combustion gas generated in the reaction furnace 12 is introduced into the first reactor 14 filled with the first catalyst for Claus reaction through the pipe L2, and the temperature of the first reactor 14 is increased. In the temperature raising step, the reactor 12 is preferably heated to 1000 ° C., and the first reactor 14 is heated to 200 to 230 ° C. If the temperature rise temperature of the first reactor 14 is too low, the Claus reaction will not proceed sufficiently even if the supply of hydrogen sulfide is started in the next step, and a large amount of unreacted hydrogen sulfide will be downstream. The load of the gas absorption unit 20 tends to increase. On the other hand, if the temperature rising temperature of the first reactor 14 is too high, the activity of the first catalyst for the Claus reaction tends to decrease.

  The combustion gas that has passed through the first reactor 14 is introduced into the condenser 16 through the pipe L4. A normal heat exchanger can be used as the condenser 16. In a normal operation state, the condenser 16 can be supplied with a refrigerant (for example, water).

  Through the above steps, the temperature of the entire sulfur recovery device 1 is increased. As the temperature rises, the temperature of each device and pipe rises and thermally expands. Therefore, it is preferable to gradually raise the temperature of the sulfur recovery device 1 from the viewpoint of preventing damage to the device and leakage. In the present embodiment, the temperature of the combustion gas discharged from the reaction furnace 12 is adjusted by supplying steam to the reaction furnace 12 together with the fuel gas and air. Thereby, the temperature increase rate of the entire sulfur recovery apparatus 1 can be controlled smoothly.

  There is no restriction | limiting in particular in the temperature and pressure of the steam supplied to the reaction furnace 12, For example, the thing of 100-1000 kPa and 130-250 degreeC can be used. Steam is supplied from a boiler or the like. The steam is adjusted to a desired pressure and temperature by adjustment with a boiler or a pressure control valve.

  After raising the temperature of the gas absorption unit 20, the sulfur recovery unit 10 and the gas absorption unit 20 are connected. At this time, it is preferable to maintain the oxygen concentration of the combustion gas at the outlet of the reaction furnace 12 at 0.01 to 1.0 mass%. When the oxygen concentration exceeds 1.0% by mass, the second catalyst for hydrogenation reaction provided in the second reactor 34 tends to be damaged. The sulfur recovery unit 10 and the gas absorption unit 20 are connected by opening the valve V4 and closing the valve V2. By connecting the sulfur recovery unit 10 and the gas recovery unit 20 before starting the supply of hydrogen sulfide in the reaction start process, sulfur oxide and hydrogen sulfide generated in the sulfur recovery unit 10 from the beginning of the supply of hydrogen sulfide. Can be absorbed in the gas absorption part 20. Thereby, the amount of sulfur oxide gas discharged into the atmosphere at the start of operation of the sulfur recovery apparatus 1 can be sufficiently reduced. Moreover, since sulfur oxide conventionally discharged into the atmosphere can be processed by the sulfur recovery device 1, the amount of sulfur recovered can be increased.

(Reaction start process)
The reaction start step is a step of starting the supply of hydrogen sulfide gas (acid gas) to the reaction furnace and combusting at least a part of the hydrogen sulfide, and is a transition step to a steady operation.

  For example, when the temperature of the reaction furnace 12 is increased to 1000 ° C. and the temperature of the first reactor 14 is increased to 200 to 230 ° C., the reaction start process is started by starting the supply of hydrogen sulfide gas to the reaction furnace 12. To do. It is preferable that the supply of hydrogen sulfide gas is gradually increased from the viewpoint of sufficiently suppressing the damage of the first catalyst for the Claus reaction and smoothly performing the operation start operation.

  In addition to a predetermined amount of air supplied to burn the fuel gas, the reactor 12 is supplied with air for burning at least a part of the hydrogen sulfide gas at the same time as the supply of the hydrogen sulfide gas is started. preferable. The amount of air for burning the hydrogen sulfide gas is preferably an amount such that 1/3 of the total supply amount of the hydrogen sulfide gas reacts by the following formula (1) by oxygen contained in the air. Thereby, the amount of hydrogen sulfide and sulfur dioxide introduced from the sulfur recovery unit 10 to the gas absorption unit 20 can be sufficiently reduced.

H ₂ S + 3 / 2O ₂ → SO ₂ + H ₂ O (1)

  From the viewpoint of sufficiently suppressing fluctuations in the operating state at the start of operation, it is preferable to gradually reduce the supply of fuel gas correspondingly while increasing the supply of hydrogen sulfide gas to the reaction furnace 12. At this time, in order to prevent damage to the second catalyst for the hydrogenation reaction, it is preferable to reduce the amount of air supplied for fuel gas combustion to match the amount of decrease in the amount of fuel gas supplied.

  Sulfur dioxide generated by the reaction of the above formula (1) is introduced into the first reactor 14 having the first catalyst for Claus reaction through the pipe L2 together with unreacted hydrogen sulfide. In the first reactor 14, the Claus reaction represented by the following formula (2) proceeds, and the amount of sulfur produced increases. Sulfur produced in the first reactor 14 is introduced into the condenser 16 through the pipe L4 together with combustion gas, unreacted hydrogen sulfide gas, and sulfur dioxide gas. The produced sulfur is cooled to, for example, 190 ° C. or less by the condenser 16 and is discharged from the sulfur counter 1 in a liquid state.

2H ₂ S + SO ₂ → 2H ₂ O + 3S (2)

  In the reaction start step, it is preferable that the operation state of the first reactor 14 finally reaches a temperature of 200 to 350 ° C. By setting such a temperature condition, the Claus reaction of the above formula (2) proceeds stably, and the absorption load of the hydrogen sulfide gas in the gas absorption unit 20 is sufficiently reduced while sufficiently reducing the amount of sulfur oxide discharged. Can be reduced.

  The hydrogen sulfide gas and the sulfur dioxide gas cooled by the condenser 16 are introduced into the heater 32 provided in the gas absorption unit 20 through the pipe L6 together with the combustion gas, and are heated to 270 to 300 ° C. The heated hydrogen sulfide gas and sulfur oxide gas are introduced into a second reactor 34 having a second catalyst for hydrogenation reaction together with the combustion gas and the hydrogen gas supplied to the heater 32. Here, in the second reactor 34, sulfur dioxide and hydrogen react as shown in the following formula (3) by the action of the second catalyst for hydrogenation reaction to generate hydrogen sulfide and water. Note that a normal line heater can be used as the heater 32.

SO ₂ + 3H ₂ → H ₂ S + 2H ₂ O (3)

  As the second catalyst for the hydrogenation reaction accommodated in the second reactor 34, a normal catalyst can be used.

  The hydrogen sulfide and water generated by the reaction of the above formula (3) are introduced into the quencher 36 through the pipe L12 together with the combustion gas, and separated into water, hydrogen sulfide and the combustion gas. The separated water is discharged from the bottom of the quencher 36 to the outside of the sulfur recovery apparatus 1.

  The hydrogen sulfide and the combustion gas separated by the quencher 36 are introduced into the gas absorption tower 38 through the pipes L14 and L16, and come into contact with the absorption liquid supplied to the gas absorption tower 38 through the pipe L24. The hydrogen sulfide is absorbed by the absorption liquid, and the absorption liquid that has absorbed the hydrogen sulfide is discharged through the pipe L26. The combustion gas in which the hydrogen sulfide concentration is sufficiently reduced is introduced into the combustor 39 provided in the combustion unit 30 through the pipe L22. Since the combustion gas has sufficiently reduced hydrogen sulfide gas and sulfur oxide gas concentrations, the concentration of air pollutants such as sulfur oxide gas in the exhaust gas discharged from the combustor 39 is sufficiently reduced. .

  In order to adjust the load of the gas absorption tower 38 and to maintain the balance of the entire gas absorption unit 20, part of the hydrogen sulfide gas and the combustion gas is recycled through the pipe L18, the blower 37, and the pipe L20. There is a case.

  In the reaction start step, it is preferable to gradually decrease the supply amount of the fuel gas while gradually increasing the supply amount of hydrogen sulfide to the reaction furnace 12. Finally, the supply of the fuel gas to the reaction furnace 12 is stopped, the reaction start process is terminated, and a steady operation for supplying only the hydrogen sulfide gas to the reaction furnace 12 can be performed. The supply of steam to the reaction furnace 12 may be stopped during the reaction start process, or may be continuously supplied until steady operation.

  After the reaction start step is completed, a steady operation can be performed. In steady operation, hydrogen sulfide gas and air are supplied to the reaction furnace 12 of the sulfur recovery unit 10 at a predetermined ratio, and a part of the hydrogen sulfide gas burns to generate sulfur dioxide (the above formula (1)). . The ratio of the hydrogen sulfide gas and air supplied to the reaction furnace 12 is a ratio at which 1/3 of the total supply amount of hydrogen sulfide gas burns according to the above equation (1). By adjusting to this ratio, the Claus reaction described later proceeds efficiently, and generation of unreacted hydrogen sulfide and sulfur dioxide can be sufficiently suppressed. Further, the amount of sulfur recovered in the sulfur recovery device 1 can be increased.

  According to the operation method of the sulfur recovery device according to the above embodiment, the operation for starting operation can be performed without discharging the sulfur oxide-containing gas discharged from the condenser 16 to the combustor 39 via the pipe L8. . Therefore, atmospheric emissions of air pollutants such as sulfur oxide gas can be sufficiently reduced.

  The preferred embodiment of the present invention has been described above, but the present invention is not limited to the above embodiment.

  EXAMPLES Hereinafter, although this invention is demonstrated more concretely based on an Example and a comparative example, this invention is not limited to a following example at all.

Example 1
Operation start operation of the sulfur collection | recovery apparatus 1 shown in FIG. 1 was performed as follows.

  First, together with the fuel gas, air was supplied to the heater 32 at an air / fuel ratio equal to or lower than the stoichiometric air / fuel ratio to burn the fuel gas to generate combustion gas. This combustion gas was circulated in the order of the second reactor 34, the quencher 36 and the blower 37. Thereby, the gas absorption part 20 was heated up until the temperature of the 2nd reactor 34 became 270 degreeC. At this time, the valve V2 in the sulfur recovery apparatus 1 was opened and the valve V4 was closed.

  Next, hydrogen gas, air, and steam were introduced into the reaction furnace 12 to burn the hydrogen gas, and the temperature of the entire sulfur recovery unit 10 was increased by the generated combustion gas (water). Under the present circumstances, the temperature increase rate of the sulfur collection | recovery part 10 was controlled to 30-50 degreeC / hour by adjusting the injection amount of steam.

  The ratio of air to hydrogen supplied to the reaction furnace 12 was adjusted to 90 to 100% by mass based on the theoretical air-fuel ratio. And the oxygen concentration in the sulfur collection | recovery apparatus 1 was 1 volume% or less. The oxygen concentration measurement was performed at the outlet of the condenser 16 and was performed using a commercially available gas sensor.

  Next, the valve V4 was opened and the valve V2 was closed so that the combustion gas discharged from the condenser 16 was not discharged to the combustor 39 through the pipe L8.

  After the reaction furnace 12 reached 1000 ° C. and the first reactor 14 reached 200 to 230 ° C., hydrogen sulfide gas (acid gas) was introduced into the reaction furnace 12 to start the reaction start process. The hydrogen sulfide gas was gradually increased while reducing the fuel gas introduced into the reactor 12. At this time, the amount of air introduced into the reaction furnace 12 burns 1/3 of the air amount corresponding to 90 to 100% by mass of the air amount necessary for theoretically burning hydrogen gas and the total amount of hydrogen sulfide. Therefore, the total amount with the amount of air required for this purpose was used.

  Part of the hydrogen sulfide introduced into the reaction furnace 12 becomes sulfur dioxide by the above formula (1), and the sulfur dioxide reacts with the unreacted hydrogen sulfide by the above formula (2) (Klaus reaction) to generate sulfur. . This sulfur was recovered from the condenser 16.

  The unreacted sulfur dioxide gas discharged from the first reactor 14 passes through the condenser 16, is introduced into the heater 32, and is heated to 270 to 300 ° C. Then, the second reactor 34 together with the hydrogen gas is used. And converted into hydrogen sulfide and water by the reaction of the above formula (3).

  The hydrogen sulfide was separated from water by the quencher 36 and then introduced into the gas absorption tower 38 and absorbed by the absorption liquid (diisopropanolamine). The combustion gas (off gas) from which hydrogen sulfide was removed was introduced into the combustor 39 through the pipe L22. The sulfur dioxide concentration in the exhaust gas discharged from the combustor 39 was measured using a commercially available gas concentration measuring device. The concentration of sulfur dioxide in the exhaust gas at the start of operation changed from several tens to several hundred ppm.

  The supply of hydrogen gas to the reaction furnace 12 was stopped, and a steady operation was started. From the start of the operation start operation (preliminary process) until the first reactor 14 and the second reactor 34 reach a predetermined temperature and stop the supply of hydrogen gas to the reaction furnace 12, that is, a steady operation state is established. It took 48 hours to complete.

(Comparative Example 1)
Operation start operation of the sulfur collection | recovery apparatus 3 shown in FIG. 2 was performed as follows.

  Hydrogen gas, air, and steam were introduced into the reaction furnace 112 for combustion, and the temperature of the entire sulfur recovery unit 100 was increased by the generated combustion gas (water). The temperature increase rate of the sulfur recovery unit 100 was adjusted to 30 to 50 ° C./hour.

  Simultaneously with the temperature rise of the sulfur recovery unit 100, the fuel gas is supplied to the heater 132 together with the fuel gas at an air / fuel ratio equal to or lower than the stoichiometric air / fuel ratio to burn the fuel gas, thereby generating combustion gas. I let you. This combustion gas was circulated in the order of the second reactor 134, the quencher 136, and the blower 137. Thereby, the gas absorption part 200 was heated up until the temperature of the 2nd reactor 134 became 270 degreeC. At this time, the valve V102 in the sulfur recovery device 3 was opened and the valve V104 was closed.

  After the reactor 112 reaches 1000 ° C. and the first reactor 114 reaches 200 to 230 ° C., the valve V102 is opened, and the hydrogen sulfide gas (acid gas) is introduced into the reactor 112 with the valve V104 closed. The reaction start process was started. The hydrogen sulfide gas was gradually increased while reducing the fuel gas introduced into the reaction furnace 112. At this time, the amount of air introduced into the reaction furnace 112 is equal to or greater than the total amount of the air amount necessary for theoretically burning hydrogen gas and the air amount necessary for burning one third of the total amount of hydrogen sulfide. It was.

  Part of the hydrogen sulfide introduced into the reaction furnace 112 becomes sulfur dioxide by the above formula (1), and the sulfur dioxide reacts with the unreacted hydrogen sulfide by the above formula (2) (Klaus reaction) to generate sulfur. . This sulfur was recovered from the condenser 116.

  The unreacted sulfur dioxide gas and hydrogen sulfide gas discharged from the first reactor 114 passed through the condenser 116 and were introduced into the combustor 139 through the valve V102 and the pipe L108. The sulfur dioxide concentration of the exhaust gas discharged from the combustor 139 was measured using a commercially available gas concentration meter. The concentration of sulfur dioxide in the exhaust gas at the start of operation was several tens to several hundred times that in Example 1.

  After the supply of hydrogen gas to the reaction furnace 112 is stopped, the valve V102 is closed and the valve V104 is opened, so that the sulfur recovery unit 100 and the gas absorption unit 200 are connected to each other, and the sulfur recovery device is operated in a steady state. It moved to. The time required from the start of the operation start operation to the transition to the steady operation was 48 hours.

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1,3 ... Sulfur recovery apparatus, 10,100 ... Sulfur recovery part, 12,112 ... Reactor, 14,114 ... 1st reactor, 16,116 ... Condenser, 20,200 ... Gas absorption part, 30,300 ... Combustion section, 32, 132 ... Heater, 34, 134 ... Second reactor, 36, 136 ... Quencher, 37, 137 ... Blower, 38, 138 ... Gas absorption tower, 39, 139 ... Combustor.

Claims (3)

A sulfur recovery unit comprising: a reaction furnace that burns hydrogen sulfide to generate sulfur dioxide; and a first reactor that has a first catalyst that generates sulfur by causing a Claus reaction between the sulfur dioxide and hydrogen sulfide; and
A second reactor having a second catalyst for hydrogenating sulfur dioxide produced in the sulfur recovery section to produce hydrogen sulfide; and an absorption tower for absorbing the hydrogen sulfide produced in the second reactor into an absorbent. And a method for operating a sulfur recovery device comprising a gas absorption part comprising:
At the start of operation of the sulfur recovery device,
Air for burning the fuel gas together with a fuel gas containing hydrogen as a main component is supplied to the reactor at an air-fuel ratio equal to or lower than the stoichiometric air-fuel ratio, and the sulfur recovery unit is elevated by the combustion gas generated by burning the fuel gas. A heating step for heating;
A reaction start step of starting supply of hydrogen sulfide to the reaction furnace and combusting at least a part of the hydrogen sulfide in a state where the combustion gas is circulated through the gas absorption part. how to drive.   The operation method of a sulfur recovery apparatus according to claim 1, wherein in the temperature raising step, the temperature is raised while injecting steam together with the fuel gas and the air into the reactor.   The method for operating a sulfur recovery apparatus according to claim 1 or 2, further comprising a preliminary step of individually heating the sulfur recovery unit and the gas absorption unit before the temperature increase step.

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