Lesson plan
Claus process
The Claus process is a desulfurizing process, recovering elemental sulfur from gaseous mixtures containing hydrogen sulfide (H 2 S). First patented in 1883 by the chemist Carl Friedrich Claus, the Claus process remains the most important desulfurization process in the petrochemicals industry. It is standard at oil refineries, natural gas processing plants, and gasification or synthesis gas plants. In 2005, byproduct sulfur from hydrocarbon-processing facilities constituted the vast majority of the 64 teragrams (64 million metric tons) of sulfur produced worldwide. The overall Claus process reaction is described by the following equation: :2 H 2 S + O 2 → 2 S + 2 H 2 O However, the process occurs in two steps: :2 H 2 S + 3 O 2 → 2 SO 2 + 2 H 2 O :4 H 2 S + 2 SO 2 → 3 S 2 + 4 H 2 O Moreover, the input feedstock is usually a mixture of gases, containing hydrogen cyanide, hydrocarbons, sulfur dioxide or ammonia. The mixture may begin as raw natural gas, or output from physical and chemical gas treatment units (Selexol, Rectisol, Purisol and amine scrubbers) when e.g. refining crude oil. Gases containing over 25% H 2 S are suitable for the recovery of sulfur in straight-through Claus plants. Gases with less than 25% H 2 S can be processed through alternate configurations such as a split flow, or feed and air preheating.
Article summary
The Claus process is a desulfurizing process, recovering elemental sulfur from gaseous mixtures containing hydrogen sulfide (H 2 S). First patented in 1883 by the chemist Carl Friedrich Claus, the Claus process remains the most important desulfurization process in the petrochemicals industry. It is standard at oil refineries, natural gas processing plants, and gasification or synthesis gas plants. In 2005, byproduct sulfur from hydrocarbon-processing facilities constituted the vast majority of the 64 teragrams (64 million metric tons) of sulfur produced worldwide. The overall Claus process reaction is described by the following equation: :2 H 2 S + O 2 → 2 S + 2 H 2 O However, the process occurs in two steps: :2 H 2 S + 3 O 2 → 2 SO 2 + 2 H 2 O :4 H 2 S + 2 SO 2 → 3 S 2 + 4 H 2 O Moreover, the input feedstock is usually a mixture of gases, containing hydrogen cyanide, hydrocarbons, sulfur dioxide or ammonia. The mixture may begin as raw natural gas, or output from physical and chemical gas treatment units (Selexol, Rectisol, Purisol and amine scrubbers) when e.g. refining crude oil. Gases containing over 25% H 2 S are suitable for the recovery of sulfur in straight-through Claus plants. Gases with less than 25% H 2 S can be processed through alternate configurations such as a split flow, or feed and air preheating.
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Discussion questions
- Summarise the article in your own words. Which single claim would you verify first, and why?
- Which claim in this article is most likely to be revised as the sources update? How would you check its current status?
- If two sources disagreed about one of these facts, what would you need in order to trust one over the other?
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