Molten Sulfur Trench
2

Question

Molten Sulfur Trench

amiraz (Chemical)

(OP)

9 Jan 12 08:39

We currently have stainless steel lined concrete trench system with steam coil where we dump sulfur cars into. These trenches are sloped to a sulfur pit for storage and transfer to the process units. I am working on the design and installation of a new facility for another 350 feet of additional trench system.

Has anyone out there had any experience to possibly use jacketted (for steam) stainless steel piping to accomplish this? I got to believe that it would be a much simpler design to deal with a lets say 30" diameter ss pipe than lining a 40x40 inch trench. we also need to consider expansion joints with either design.

SNORGY (Mechanical) · Answer 1 · 2012-01-09 09:40:58

You might want to look at what the folks at CSI (Controls Southeast Inc) can do for you here.

My gut reaction is that jacketed stainless steel piping in the size that you are talking about might not be as cost effective as one would initially hope, but I have never done it before.

Regards,

SNORGY.

Longinthetooth (Chemical) · Answer 2 · 2012-01-09 10:15:43

I seem to remeber that we used aluminium jacketed piping (LP steam) for this purpose- rundown from a Claus unit, but that was 10/12 ins max. Like Snorgy, I have never seen anything this size before. You must wan tto dump a car pretty quickly.

QMax1 (Mechanical) · Answer 3 · 2012-01-21 23:39:00

Amiraz,  Most folks who offload sulfur are using jacketed hoses or jacketed arms that feed into a common header.  I would consider your situation unique.

Probably the most efficient and effective way to do this is a method that is not a regular practice anymore in sulfur industry(gut trace).  Run a 2 inch steam pipe down the center of your carrier pipe to heat the sulfur, then insulate the process pipe with the best practical method.  This is good because no matter how much the outer wall cools, you will always have some flow in the center.  The drawback is corrosion of the inner "gut line".

The second most effective method would be jacketing or using a high-performance heat tracing like QMax (newer) or carbon steel tracing (older and more established) to heat the carrier pipe.  This would require a more effective insulation method since the heat source is on the outer wall.

Hope this helps.

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Molten Sulfur Trench
2