Regeneration of poisoned Claus alumina catalysts

Conference · Mon Aug 01 00:00:00 EDT 1977 · Prepr., Div. Pet. Chem., Am. Chem. Soc.; (United States)

OSTI ID:6837421

George, Z M

It is generally accepted that surface SO/sub 4/=, sulfur and carbon deposits, NO/sub 3//sup -/, loss of effective surface area, etc., cause Claus catalyst deactivation. The poisoned catalysts that were examined exhibited these characteristics. The regeneration process was designed to remove the chemical poisons and in the process the surface area was partially recovered and the catalytic activity restored. However, we have not been able to relate the quantity of these deactivating agents to the loss of Claus catalytic activity. There is a suggestion that the total sulfur or total poison may be related to the loss in catalytic activity. It would be valuable to study the decline in activity of fresh alumina by adding contaminants such as hydrocarbons, amines, NO/sub x/, and oxygen individually and in combination, to the Claus reactants and relate to the properties of the used catalyst in terms of sulfur and carbon deposits, SO/sub 4/=, NO/sub 3//sup -/, and surface area. Attempts may also be made to determine if the poisons are reversibly adsorbed. The accepted in-plant regeneration involves the lowering of SO/sub 4/=, carbon and sulfur deposits, etc., as discussed earlier. Regeneration of sulfated alumina catalysts have been carried out at around 250/sup 0/C using Claus reactants, methane at 475/sup 0/C, a mixture of steam and sulfur vapor at 440/sup 0/C, as well as by leaching. But the activity enhancement does not appear to be complete as we have observed. During the course of this investigation an element in the poisoning of catalysts became evident, namely plant operational parameters which favor long catalyst life. Establishing these parameters is clearly a better solution to the poisoning problem than regeneration and will be of prime concern when the mechanism of poisoning is better understood.

• Research Organization: Alberta Research Council, Edmonton
• OSTI ID: 6837421
• Journal Information: Prepr., Div. Pet. Chem., Am. Chem. Soc.; (United States), Vol. 22:4; Conference: American Chemical Society meeting, Chicago, IL, 28 Aug 1977
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

03 NATURAL GAS
CATALYSTS
DEACTIVATION
REGENERATION
CLAUS PROCESS
HYDROGEN SULFIDES
REMOVAL
NATURAL GAS
DESULFURIZATION
SULFUR
RECOVERY
ALUMINIUM OXIDES
POISONING
PURIFICATION
ALUMINIUM COMPOUNDS
CHALCOGENIDES
CHEMICAL REACTIONS
ELEMENTS
ENERGY SOURCES
FLUIDS
FOSSIL FUELS
FUEL GAS
FUELS
GAS FUELS
GASES
HYDROGEN COMPOUNDS
NONMETALS
OXIDES
OXYGEN COMPOUNDS
SULFIDES
SULFUR COMPOUNDS
030300* - Natural Gas- Drilling
Production
& Processing