The process for configuring or reconfiguring a sulfur removal plant having a plurality of Claus units that is greater than the number of downstream tail gas treating units (TGTUs) is disclosed. The process allows for the regeneration of one of the Claus units without shutting down any of the downstream TGTUs or the other Claus units. Specifically, the regeneration tail gas can be diverted to the reaction furnace of an in-service Claus unit, thereby allowing excess oxygen to be used to regenerate the Claus unit more efficiently, and without exceeding environmental SO.sub.2 emission requirements.

Described is a control process for oxidation air management in a sulfur recovery unit. The sulfur recovery unit includes a gas feedstock inlet, an oxidation air inlet, a reaction furnace, pre-heaters, a Claus section including multiple sulfur condensers and Claus converters, and a SuperClaus section including a catalyzing SuperClaus converter, a SuperClaus sulfur condenser, and an SuperClaus oxidation air flow control valve. The control process includes analyzing one or more parameters in the sulfur recovery unit to determine a switch from the SuperClaus section to the Claus section. Additionally, conditions in the sulfur recovery unit are continuously monitored so that when a condition reaches a predetermined threshold or range, the SuperClaus oxidation air flow control valve to the SuperClaus section is opened.

A system and method including a sulfur recovery system (SRU) having a Claus system, reacting hydrogen sulfide and oxygen in a furnace to give sulfur dioxide, performing a Claus reaction in the furnace to give elemental sulfur, performing the Claus reaction in a Claus reactor to give elemental sulfur at a temperature greater than a dew point of the elemental sulfur, performing the Claus reaction in a Claus cycling reactor to give elemental sulfur at a temperature less than a solidification temperature of the elemental sulfur, depositing the elemental sulfur as solid elemental sulfur on catalyst in the Claus cycling reactor, and regenerating (heating) the Claus cycling reactor thereby forming elemental sulfur vapor from the solid elemental sulfur.

A system and method including a sulfur recovery system (SRU) having a Claus system, reacting hydrogen sulfide and oxygen in a furnace to give sulfur dioxide, performing a Claus reaction in the furnace to give elemental sulfur, performing the Claus reaction in a Claus reactor to give elemental sulfur at a temperature greater than a dew point of the elemental sulfur, performing the Claus reaction in a Claus cycling reactor to give elemental sulfur at a temperature less than a solidification temperature of the elemental sulfur, depositing the elemental sulfur as solid elemental sulfur on catalyst in the Claus cycling reactor, and regenerating (heating) the Claus cycling reactor thereby forming elemental sulfur vapor from the solid elemental sulfur.

A sulfur recovery unit (SRU) and method including feeding acid gas having hydrogen sulfide to a reaction furnace of the SRU, converting via the SRU the hydrogen sulfide into elemental sulfur and recovering the elemental sulfur, feeding fuel gas instead of the acid gas to the reaction furnace, adjusting flow rate of first air fed to the reaction furnace based on composition of the fuel gas, and adjusting flow rate of second air fed to the reaction furnace based on concentration of oxygen gas (O.sub.2) in furnace gas discharged from the reaction furnace.

In order to overcome the limitations and problems that earlier methods have experienced, a method for operating a burner used in the thermal step of a Claus process is disclosed. The burner has at least one combustion air port, at least one oxygen port, and at least one fuel port. The oxidant flow is made up of an oxygen flow of technical pure oxygen with an oxygen concentration of at least 90 vol. %, preferably at least 99 vol. %, and if necessary of a second gas flow, and it is determined whether the oxygen flow is below a pre-set minimum flow and if the oxygen flow is below a pre-set minimum flow the air flow is split into a main air flow and a side air flow and the oxygen flow is combined with the side air flow creating an oxygen-enriched side air flow which is fed to the oxygen port. A corresponding burner is also disclosed.

A method for heat integration in a sulfur recovery unit, the method comprising the steps of reacting the acid gas stream and the air stream in the reaction furnace to produce a reaction effluent, where the reaction effluent comprises elemental sulfur, reducing the temperature of the reaction effluent in the heating extension to produce an effluent stream, reducing the temperature of the reaction effluent in the waste heat boiler to produce a cooled effluent stream, reducing the temperature of the cooled effluent in the sulfur condenser to produce a liquid sulfur stream and a cooled gases stream, where the liquid sulfur stream comprises the elemental sulfur, and increasing a temperature of the cooled gases stream to produce a hot gases stream, where the heating extension is configured to capture heat from the reaction effluent and release the heat to the cooled gases stream.

A method for heat integration in a sulfur recovery unit, the method comprising the steps of reacting the acid gas stream and the air stream in the reaction furnace to produce a reaction effluent, where the reaction effluent comprises elemental sulfur, reducing the temperature of the reaction effluent in the heating extension to produce an effluent stream, reducing the temperature of the reaction effluent in the waste heat boiler to produce a cooled effluent stream, reducing the temperature of the cooled effluent in the sulfur condenser to produce a liquid sulfur stream and a cooled gases stream, where the liquid sulfur stream comprises the elemental sulfur, and increasing a temperature of the cooled gases stream to produce a hot gases stream, where the heating extension is configured to capture heat from the reaction effluent and release the heat to the cooled gases stream.

Embodiments of a hydrogen sulfide destruction and sulfur recovery system of the present invention generally include a tower, sulfur introduction piping, oxygen introduction piping, and hydrogen sulfide introduction piping, wherein said tower contains a lower cooling component positioned in a vapor space of a tower bottom section, a lower vapor space fluidly connected to an upper vapor space, one or more upper and lower catalyst beds, a first condensation cooling component and a collection tray disposed in a first condensation section, a second condensation cooling component disposed in a second condensation section, a fluid pathway, partially defined by a collection tray weir, between the first condensation section and the second condensation section, a fluid pathway between a bottom section of the second condensation section and the tower bottom section, and a second condensation section bottom section gas outlet. Embodiments of a method of using the system are also provided.

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.