Environmental Effects of burning Sulfur
Environmental Effects of burning Sulfur
(OP)
I am looking for information on the environmental effects of using sulfur as fuel for our boilers. Any information on the effects of such a process or environmental concerns with SO2? Any input would be appreciated.





RE: Environmental Effects of burning Sulfur
RE: Environmental Effects of burning Sulfur
It is also wasting the money of your company. Sulfur should be sold to chemical industry (for making sulfuric acid); the profits should be much higher than the value of energy in the sulfur.
RE: Environmental Effects of burning Sulfur
In power industry a fuel containing anywhere near 4% of sulphur is as popular as Sars. Theoretically you may possibly burn it in a very small scale by dispersing the pollutant high up in the air (using a really tall chimney) but your neighbours will hate your guts because you are just spreading the sulphur over a wide area. It is not easy to satisfy the EPA limit because you have to prove by using the historical wind data together with the background concentration already in existence that the dispersion will satisfy both the long term and short term criterion.
Countries have become unfriendly in the past because of the problem of acid rain from the windborne sulphur migrating across the border.
RE: Environmental Effects of burning Sulfur
Good fishing trip! Its the first time I've ever seen a flounder take a fly.
Brilliant.
RE: Environmental Effects of burning Sulfur
RE: Environmental Effects of burning Sulfur
I was surprised to find out the amount of water needed to scrub the flue gas from buring fuel oil with just 4% suplur can be comparable to that required for cooling a power plant. Oil fired power plant has an efficiency of 35% or there about and the balance in the form of heat is dumped in the sea. Thus the scale of the problem from burning pure sulphur is mind boggling to me.
I have also had a battle with a EPC contractor on designing a chimney to meet the EPA criterion. He had to increase the chimney height every time we met. He started with 115m and after 4 rounds I stopped him at 160m. He managed only because the plant was designed to burn gas mainly and oil was burnt only for a limited period in a year so that the overall average air quality could be met.
However, I read Eng-tips to learn from our fellow professionals and there may be some clever ways to deal with it.
RE: Environmental Effects of burning Sulfur
What is the max SO2 concentration that can be directly emited into the atmosphere from a sulfur recovery plant?
Regards
sp77
RE: Environmental Effects of burning Sulfur
The world source on the standard of SO2 point source for different countries can be viewed from wedsite
http://www.worldbank.org/html/fpd/em/pow...
The emission standards are related manily to the power generation and plant size above a certain capacity. These information may not be much help to your suphur extraction plant but you should get a feel of the limit.
However at the receiver end the 1-hour average ground concentration I come across on my last project was 730 ug/m3. There was also a 30-day limit to be met but I haven't got the data with me now.