SNOX process
The SNOX process is a process which removes sulfur dioxide, nitrogen oxides and particulates from flue gases. The sulfur is recovered as concentrated sulfuric acid and the nitrogen oxides are reduced to free nitrogen. The process is based on the well-known WSA process, a process for recovering sulfur from various process gasses in the form of commercial quality sulfuric acid (H2SO4)
The SNOX process is based on catalytic reactions and does not consume water or absorbents. Neither does it produce any waste, except for the separated dust.
In addition the process can handle other sulfurous waste streams. This is highly interesting in refineries, where e.g. hydrogen sulfide (H2S) gas, sour water stripper gas and Claus tail gas can be led to the SNOX plant, and thereby investment in other waste gas handling facilities can be saved.
The SNOX process includes the following steps:
The SNOX process developed by Haldor Topsoe has been specifically designed for power and steam generation plants to remove sulfur and nitrogen oxides from combustion of heavy residuals, petroleum coke, sour gasses, or other waste products from refineries.
Today, refineries are struggling to find ways to dispose of their increasing amount of sulfurous streams and waste products. Large amounts of high-sulfur residuals, particularly heavy oil and petroleum coke, are being produced and sold as fuel to the marine market or the cement industry. These off-take markets are, however, changing due to environmental constraints, and new markets have to be identified. One attractive option would be to use these residual fuels to produce power and steam, leaving behind the issue of emissions to be addressed. The SNOX technology is especially suitable for cleaning flue gases from combustion of high-sulfur fuels in refineries. The SNOX process is a very energy-efficient way to convert the NOx in the flue gas into nitrogen and the SOx into concentrated sulfuric acid of commercial quality without using any absorbents and without producing waste products or waste water. Along with the flue gases, other sulfurous waste streams from a refinery can be treated, such as H2S gas, SWS gas, Claus tail gas and elemental sulfur, potentially turning this technology into a complete sulfur management system.
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