August 27, 2020 • 1 min read
Creating a global strategic alliance with Haldor Topsoe
Haldor Topsoe and Comprimo®, our sulphur technology business, will jointly license the TopClaus® sulphur recovery solution.
TopClaus combines two well-proven technologies – Topsoe’s energy-efficient wet gas sulphuric acid (WSA) process and Comprimo’s industry-leading Claus process.
The TopClaus solution will enable operators to handle acid gases and achieve sulphur removal efficiency (SRE) above 99.9 percent – at a significantly lower cost of ownership.
TopClaus is suitable for greenfield projects and revamps. It is also ideal for debottlenecking existing acid gas treatment plants, enhancing uptime, increasing capacity, and lowering emissions.
The Claus part of the TopClaus process recovers elemental sulphur from acid gases. The tail gases from the Claus unit are treated in the WSA unit where the remaining sulphur compounds are converted into sulphuric acid. The sulphuric acid is returned to the Claus reaction furnace for reprocessing to elemental sulphur, with no sulphuric acid left as by-product. However, sulphuric acid can be extracted for specific uses or for sale, as needed.
TopClaus significantly reduces the refinery’s carbon footprint and eliminates the need to incinerate tail gas. When oxidizing the sulphur compounds to sulphuric acid, the WSA unit recovers as much as 90 percent of the process heat in the form of superheated high-pressure steam. This steam can be used in other refinery processes or to generate electricity. This results in much lower operating costs compared to any conventional amine-based technology that uses steam to regenerate amine and requires tail gas incineration.
“Customers will benefit from a simpler, more robust and efficient plant design at a lower cost of ownership,” said Rasmus Atle Breivik, Product Line Director, Topsoe. “TopClaus sulphur removal and recovery will enable them to comply with strict environmental regulations while protecting their profit. We are proud to be working with Comprimo, the world’s largest technology licensor of gas treating and sulphur recovery solutions.”
Frank Scheel, Senior Vice President, Comprimo, added, “We share Topsoe’s commitment to provide customers around the world with smarter and more sustainable solutions to protect the environment.”
