Catalyst to Improve Small-Scale Claus Plants

70493 Although the Claus process is the dominant process used for recovering sulfur from natural gas, its conversion is limited by equilibrium, and two or three Claus stages are needed to recover most of the sulfur. In addition, expensive tail gas treatment processes are needed to bring large Claus plants under environmental compliance. This project will develop a novel catalyst that provides a higher conversion of sulfur compounds in the Claus reactor. The use of this catalyst would decrease emissions of sulfur compounds in Claus processes, significantly reducing the amount of investment and operating costs needed for gas processors to meet their emissions requirements. Phase I will design, synthesize, and screen a series of catalysts, and the most promising will be thoroughly investigated to determine its activity and durability. A detailed process and economic analysis will be undertaken to determine the benefits of the technology to the gas industry. Commercial Applications and Other Benefits as described by the awardee: The increased recovery efficiency from the use of the new catalyst should benefit existing Claus plants and eliminate the need to install costly tail gas clean up technology. The improved catalyst should also find use in new grass roots Claus plant installations.