ExxonMobil Catalysts and Licensing LLC and BASF Corporation are conducting a full-scale commercial demonstration of a new gas treating solvent at Imperial Oil’s Sarnia Refinery. The companies jointly developed the new amine-based solvent aimed at meeting stringent sulfur emissions standards with greater efficiency, further raising the bar for tail gas treating and acid gas removal processes.
The technology improves the selective removal of hydrogen sulfide (H2S) and minimizes the co-absorption of carbon dioxide (CO2) from gas streams. The highly selective properties of the solvent allow refiners and gas processors to increase capacity and lower operating costs in existing equipment. For new treating facilities, the usage of the technology will reduce the size of the equipment and the initial capital investments.
When used in a tail gas treating unit in conjunction with a Claus sulfur recovery unit (SRU), the new technology has the capability to achieve greater than 99.99% overall sulfur recovery and very low emissions to cope with future requirements. Pilot plant testing has demonstrated superior performance characteristics over methyldiethanolamine (MDEA) formulations and even improvements over FLEXSORB™ SE/ SE Plus solvents. FLEXSORB SE and SE Plus are registered trademarks of ExxonMobil.
