Oil and gas producers face increasingly stringent sulphur plant emission requirements. The World Bank Standards call for SO₂ emissions exiting an incinerator to be less than 150 mg SO₂/Nm3. To meet these specifications, the vent air from sulphur degassing units should not be incinerated.

Shell Catalysts & Technologies has demonstrated that it is possible to avoid the emission of SO₂ from the degasser by operating at a slightly elevated pressure. This enables reliable recycling to the sulphur recovery unit’s (SRU) front end. The new design relies on the well-proven process technology and long track record of the Shell sulphur degasser combined with process improvements to meet the new and more-demanding SO₂ emission legislation.

Operating Shell’s sulphur degasser at an elevated pressure enables recycling of the vent gases to the front of the Claus sulphur recovery unit without the need for costly and low-reliability blowers. As is the case with all Shell Catalyst & Technologies’ hardware, our systems support compliance and profitability because of our owner/operator background.

It is a safe, robust and cost effective solution to help lower SO₂ emissions. The addition of this technology to the Shell Catalysts & Technologies portfolio strengthens Shell’s ability to offer integrated solutions for gas processing, treating and sulphur recovery.