Recovering helium from a gaseous stream includes contacting an acid gas removal membrane with a gaseous stream to yield a permeate stream and a residual stream, removing a majority of the acid gas from the residual stream to yield a first acid gas stream and a helium depleted clean gas stream, removing a majority of the acid gas from the permeate stream to yield a second acid gas stream and a helium rich stream, and removing helium from the helium rich stream to yield a helium product stream and a helium depleted stream. A helium removal system for removing helium from a gaseous stream including hydrocarbon gas, acid gas, and helium includes a first processing zone including a first acid gas removal unit, a second processing zone including a second acid gas removal unit, a third processing zone, and a helium purification unit.

Recovering helium from a gaseous stream includes contacting an acid gas removal membrane with a gaseous stream to yield a permeate stream and a residual stream, removing a majority of the acid gas from the residual stream to yield a first acid gas stream and a helium depleted clean gas stream, removing a majority of the acid gas from the permeate stream to yield a second acid gas stream and a helium rich stream, and removing helium from the helium rich stream to yield a helium product stream and a helium depleted stream. A helium removal system for removing helium from a gaseous stream including hydrocarbon gas, acid gas, and helium includes a first processing zone including a first acid gas removal unit, a second processing zone including a second acid gas removal unit, a third processing zone, and a helium purification unit.

An elemental sulfur recovery unit comprising a thermal unit configured to combust an acid gas feed comprising hydrogen sulfide, an oxygen source, and a fuel gas to create a reaction furnace outlet stream, comprising elemental sulfur, a waste heat boiler configured to capture heat from the reaction furnace outlet stream to create a waste heat boiler effluent, a condenser configured to condense the waste heat boiler effluent to produce a non-condensed gases stream and a condensed stream comprising elemental sulfur, a process gas reheater configured to generate a hot gases stream, a hydrogenation reactor configured to convert the hot gases stream to create a hydrogenation effluent comprising hydrogen sulfide, a process desuperheater configured to cool the hydrogenation effluent to generate a cooled effluent, and an absorber unit configured to absorb the hydrogen sulfide from the cooled effluent to produce a hydrogen sulfide recycle stream and a waste gas stream.

This disclosure relates generally to processes sour gas treating for H2S Removal, separation of impurities such as hydrocarbons, BTEX and mercaptans and the Partial Acid Gas Enrichment integrated system from the sour gas field developments, or any application. The combination of innovation schemes comprises one or more absorbers, primary and secondary regenerators. The secondary regenerator functions are, enriching the H2S stream further and to separate the hydrocarbons, mercaptans and BTEX where an additional acid gas enrichment and hydrocarbons removal could be eliminated. Then there is a unique sulfur recovery and tail gas treating with a unique 2-zone reaction furnace, tail gas absorber which operated as partial acid gas enrichment by receiving split acid gas from the SRU and the hydrolysis reactor to hydrolyze sulfur compounds. The acid gas from the primary and the secondary amine regeneration and the acid gas recycle from the tail gas which is preheated and these streams flow to the 2-zones reaction furnace in the sulfur recovery unit to establish a stable low emission and higher recovery.

This disclosure relates generally to processes sour gas treating for H2S Removal, separation of impurities such as hydrocarbons, BTEX and mercaptans and the Partial Acid Gas Enrichment integrated system from the sour gas field developments, or any application. The combination of innovation schemes comprises one or more absorbers, primary and secondary regenerators. The secondary regenerator functions are, enriching the H2S stream further and to separate the hydrocarbons, mercaptans and BTEX where an additional acid gas enrichment and hydrocarbons removal could be eliminated. Then there is a unique sulfur recovery and tail gas treating with a unique 2-zone reaction furnace, tail gas absorber which operated as partial acid gas enrichment by receiving split acid gas from the SRU and the hydrolysis reactor to hydrolyze sulfur compounds.

The acid gas from the primary and the secondary amine regeneration and the acid gas recycle from the tail gas which is preheated and these streams flow to the 2-zones reaction furnace in the sulfur recovery unit to establish a stable low emission and higher recovery.

A system and method for removing sulfur compounds from gas, including discharging tail gas having sulfur compounds from a sulfur recovery unit (SRU) to a non-thermal plasma (NTP) catalytic unit including an NTP reactor, providing oxidant to the NTP reactor and placing the oxidant in an NTP state in the NTP reactor to give an oxidative reactive species formed from the oxidant, converting (oxidizing) the sulfur compounds with the oxidative reactive species and catalyst in the NTP catalytic unit into sulfur oxides (SO.sub.x) to discharge the tail gas as treated having the formed SO.sub.x without the sulfur compounds that were converted. The SO.sub.x is absorbed into water in a quench tower to give the tail gas beneficially having only small amounts (e.g., less than 200 ppmv) of sulfur compounds. SO.sub.x may be degassed from water discharged from the quench tower and sent to the SRU furnace.

A method and a system to form hydrogen while removing sulfur from an acid gas stream are provided. An exemplary system includes a reaction furnace including a porous burner, an inlet for an oxygen stream into the porous burner, an inlet for the acid gas stream into the porous burner, and a plurality of inlets on the reaction furnace for injecting an inert coolant.

A method and a system to form hydrogen while removing sulfur from an acid gas stream are provided. An exemplary system includes a reaction furnace including a porous burner, an inlet for an oxygen stream into the porous burner, an inlet for the acid gas stream into the porous burner, and a plurality of inlets on the reaction furnace for injecting an inert coolant.

A catalyst for selectively oxidizing hydrogen sulfide to element sulfur, catalyst for burning tail-gas, and process for deeply catalytically oxidizing hydrogen sulfide to sulfur are disclosed. The catalyst for selectively oxidizing hydrogen sulfide to element sulfur is prepared by: 10-34% of iron trioxide and 60-84% of anatase titanium dioxide, and the balance being are auxiliary agents. Also a catalyst for burning tail-gas is prepared by: 48-78% of iron trioxide and 18-48% of anatase titanium dioxide, and the balance being auxiliary agents. The catalyst of the present invention has high selectivity and high sulfur recovery rate. An isothermal reactor and an adiabatic reactor of the present invention are connected in series and are filled with the above two catalysts for reactions, thus reducing total sulfur in the vented gas while having a high sulfur yield and conversion rate.

Recovering helium from a gaseous stream includes contacting an acid gas removal membrane with a gaseous stream to yield a permeate stream and a residual stream, removing a majority of the acid gas from the residual stream to yield a first acid gas stream and a helium depleted clean gas stream, removing a majority of the acid gas from the permeate stream to yield a second acid gas stream and a helium rich stream, and removing helium from the helium rich stream to yield a helium product stream and a helium depleted stream. A helium removal system for removing helium from a gaseous stream including hydrocarbon gas, acid gas, and helium includes a first processing zone including a first acid gas removal unit, a second processing zone including a second acid gas removal unit, a third processing zone, and a helium purification unit.