A method for removing sulfur-containing compounds from a sulfur recovery unit (SRU) tail gas stream includes the steps of introducing the SRU tail gas stream to a reducing unit to produce a membrane feed, the reducing unit configured to reduce the sulfur-containing compounds to hydrogen sulfide, introducing the membrane feed to a hydrogen sulfide membrane unit, the hydrogen sulfide membrane unit comprising a membrane, wherein the membrane feed comprises hydrogen sulfide, allowing the membrane feed to contact a feed side of the membrane such that hydrogen sulfide permeates through the membrane to a permeate side, and collecting the retentate gases that fail to permeate through the membrane to produce a stack feed, wherein the stack feed comprises retentate gases.

A system for reducing SO.sub.2 emissions comprises a hydrogenation reactor, a tail gas cooler, a contact condenser, a hydrolysis reactor, and an absorber. The hydrogenation reactor is configured to receive a Claus tail gas and convert at least a portion of SO.sub.2 in the Claus tail gas to H.sub.2S to produce a hydrogenated Claus tail gas stream. The hydrolysis reactor is configured to convert at least a portion of COS to H.sub.2S. The absorber comprises an amine-based solvent and is configured to absorb at least a portion of the H.sub.2S and recycle the H.sub.2S to the Claus plant.

A process for removing sulphur dioxide from the gaseous effluent of a smelter furnace comprising the steps of: providing the gaseous effluent from a smelter; separating the sulphur dioxide from the gaseous effluent to provide concentrated sulphur dioxide and effluent for discharge into the atmosphere; mixing the concentrated sulphur dioxide with a fuel gas; heating the mixture such that the concentrated sulphur dioxide and fuel gas react to form a gaseous product mixture comprising sulphur and hydrogen sulphide; and removing the majority of preferably substantially all of the sulphur and hydrogen sulphide from the gaseous product mixture; wherein the remaining gaseous product mixture is incinerated before being vented into the atmosphere or is recycled into the smelter furnace.

A composite material is used for desulfurization. The composite material contains activated carbon, alkali metal oxides, silicon oxides, iron oxides, and rare earth element oxides. The weight ratio among the activated carbon, iron oxides and rare earth element oxides is 100:(0.5-5):(1-10). The composite material, used as a sulfur adsorbent, has a higher sulfur breakthrough capacity and desulfurization rate.

A method and apparatus for upgrading a hydrocarbon feedstock is provided. The method includes: supplying the hydrocarbon feedstock to an oxidation reactor, where the hydrocarbon feedstock is oxidized in the presence of a catalyst under conditions sufficient to selectively oxidize sulfur compounds present in the hydrocarbon feedstock; separating the hydrocarbons and the oxidized sulfur compounds by solvent extraction; collecting a residue stream that includes oxidized sulfur compounds; supplying a residue stream that includes oxidized sulfur compounds; supplying the residue stream to a gasifier to produce a syngas stream and a hydrogen sulfide stream; supplying the extracted hydrocarbon stream to a stripper to produce a stripped oil stream, which is then supplied to an adsorption column, such that the adsorption column can produce a high purity hydrocarbon product stream, a second residue stream, and a spent adsorbent stream, the spent adsorbent stream containing another portion of the oxidized compounds; and supplying the spent adsorbent stream to the gasifier to produce additional syngas for the syngas stream, thereby disposing of the adsorbent.

SuperSulf process refers to an innovative reactor design consisting of internal cooling and heating thermoplate exchangers where it is filled by the Claus type catalysts between plates in the SRU and hydrogenation catalysts in the tail gas unit. SuperSulf reactor consists of 3 reactor zones in the sulfur recovery which operates as a SubDewPoint process where the mode of operation are controlled by switching valves on the utilities streams high pressure steam and high quality water and steam where the first 2 zones operate as hot and cold and switches to cold and hot where the produced sulfur is condensed. The third zone operates as cold all the time where consists of the last sulfur condenser by producing Low pressure steam. The tail gas unit consists of 2 reactor zones of hydrogenation reactor and hydrolysis reactor with internal plate cooling then followed by the tail gas amine with a selective solvent. The thermal incineration system can meet less than 50 ppmv of SO2 and with caustic incineration less than 10 ppmv of SO2 resulting zero emission.

SuperSulf process refers to an innovative reactor design consisting of internal cooling and heating thermoplate exchangers where it is filled by the Claus type catalysts between plates in the SRU and hydrogenation catalysts in the tail gas unit. SuperSulf reactor consists of 3 reactor zones in the sulfur recovery which operates as a SubDewPoint process where the mode of operation are controlled by switching valves on the utilities streams high pressure steam and high quality water and steam where the first 2 zones operate as hot and cold and switches to cold and hot where the produced sulfur is condensed. The third zone operates as cold all the time where consists of the last sulfur condenser by producing Low pressure steam. The tail gas unit consists of 2 reactor zones of hydrogenation reactor and hydrolysis reactor with internal plate cooling then followed by the tail gas amine with a selective solvent. The thermal incineration system can meet less than 50 ppmv of SO2 and with caustic incineration less than 10 ppmv of SO2 resulting zero emission.

A system for reducing SO.sub.2 emissions comprises a hydrogenation reactor, a tail gas cooler, a contact condenser, a hydrolysis reactor, and an absorber. The hydrogenation reactor is configured to receive a Claus tail gas and convert at least a portion of SO.sub.2 in the Claus tail gas to H.sub.2S to produce a hydrogenated Claus tail gas stream. The hydrolysis reactor is configured to convert at least a portion of COS to H.sub.2S. The absorber comprises an amine-based solvent and is configured to absorb at least a portion of the H.sub.2S and recycle the H.sub.2S to the Claus plant.

A method of separating oxygen from a body of water includes providing a colony of denitrifying bacteria submerged in the body of water. The colony of denitrifying bacteria can be used to convert at least a portion of nitrogen oxides present in the body of water to nitrogen gas. The method can also include collecting the nitrogen gas and bubbling the nitrogen gas through a portion of water from the body of water to remove dissolved oxygen from the portion of water. This can form a mixture of the nitrogen gas and oxygen gas.

A method of generating electricity in a body of water includes providing a colony of sulfur-reducing bacteria, a colony of sulfur-oxidizing bacteria, and a colony of denitrifying bacteria submerged in the body of water. The colony of sulfur-reducing bacteria can be used to convert at least a portion of sulfates present in the body of water to hydrogen sulfide. The colony of sulfur-oxidizing bacteria can be used to convert the hydrogen sulfide to sulfuric acid, which can react with manganese to produce hydrogen gas. The colony of denitrifying bacteria can be used to convert at least a portion of nitrogen oxides in the body of water to nitrogen gas, which can be bubbled through a portion of water from the body of water to remove dissolved oxygen gas. The hydrogen gas and oxygen gas can be combined in a fuel cell generator to generate electricity.