Advances in hot gas desulfurization with elemental sulfur recovery
- Research Triangle Inst., Research Triangle Park, NC (United States)
- Dept. of Energy, Morgantown, WV (United States). Federal Energy Technology Center
Hot-gas desulfurization (HGD) of coal gas in integrated gasification combined cycle (IGCC) power systems has received a great deal of attention over the past two decades due to the potential for high thermal efficiency and low environmental impact of these advanced power systems. Hot gas cleanup involves removal of particulates and sulfur. H{sub 2}S and COS can be efficiently removed to less than 20 ppmv at 350 to 650 C using zinc-based metal oxide sorbents that can be regenerated for multicycle operation. Air regeneration of these sorbents results in a dilute sulfur dioxide-containing tail gas that needs to be disposed. Options include conversion of the SO{sub 2} to calcium sulfate using lime (or limestone) for landfilling or conversion to saleable products such as sulfuric acid or elemental sulfur. Elemental sulfur, an essential industrial commodity, is an attractive option. Research Triangle Institute, with US DOE sponsorship, is pursuing the development of two processes for elemental sulfur production in conjunction with hot-gas desulfurization. The first process, called the Direct Sulfur Recovery Process (DSRP), involves the selective catalytic reduction of the SO{sub 2} tail gas to sulfur using a small slipstream of the coal gas. DSRP is a highly efficient process that can recover up to 99% of SO{sub 2} as elemental sulfur in a single catalytic reactor. However, for every mole of sulfur produced two moles of hydrogen (H{sub 2}) and/or carbon monoxide (CO) are consumed in DSRP and this represents an energy penalty for the IGCC plant. A second-generation process being pursued involves the use of a modified zinc-based sorbent. This sorbent can be regenerated using SO{sub 2} and O{sub 2} to directly produce sulfur. This process, called the Advanced Hot-Gas Process (AHGP), is expected to use much less coal gas than DSRP. DSRP is currently at the pilot-plant scale development stage, whereas AHGP has been demonstrated at small bench-scale. This paper summarizes the results of DSRP field testing and the recent laboratory development efforts for the DSRP and the AHGP. In addition, this paper presents the results of a preliminary engineering and economic evaluation of the two processes used in conjunction with an IGCC power plant employing HGD.
- OSTI ID:
- 349102
- Report Number(s):
- CONF-980985-; ISBN 1-890977-15-2; TRN: IM9924%%102
- Resource Relation:
- Conference: 15. annual international Pittsburgh coal conference, Pittsburgh, PA (United States), 14-18 Sep 1998; Other Information: PBD: 1998; Related Information: Is Part Of Fifteenth annual international Pittsburgh coal conference: Proceedings; PB: [1500] p.
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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