To comply with strict emission regulations and enable beneficial processing of sulfur-containing exhaust gases, the wet catalytic H2SO4process (WSA, wet gas sulfuric acid) has become established. It is one of the most important gas cleaning processes on today's market because, in addition to ensuring environmental safety, it offers the economic advantage of marketable sulfuric acid.
The WSA process is primarily used in the petrochemical industry, for example in:
- Regeneration of spent sulfuric acid from alkylation
- Cleaning exhaust gases from the Claus plant
- Treatment of H2S from the amine regenerator (MDEA gas scrubber)
- Cleaning flue gases from the combustion of highly sulfurous fuels, e.g. petroleum coke
LiquiSonic® Sound velocity measurement in comparison
Application
In the first step of the wet catalytic WSA process, the sulfur component H2S from exhaust gases is catalytically converted into SO2 converted. In a subsequent step, at approx. 400 °C, it is converted to SO3, which reacts with atmospheric moisture to form sulfuric acid. By using the heat of reaction and the heat content of the exhaust gases, this process can be operated even at low exhaust gas concentrations (S components 0.2 vol%) without additional heat energy.
The LiquiSonic® sensors ensure precise concentration measurement of sulfuric acid even at high concentrations. The individual process stages can be continuously monitored inline and optimally adjusted using the LiquiSonic® measuring system. Due to the strong dependence of ultrasonic velocity, an accuracy of +/- 0.05 wt% is achieved for sulfuric acid.
Installation
The LiquiSonic® immersion sensors can be easily installed in the pipelines after sulfuric acid production or blending. The LiquiSonic® Controller 30 can be connected to up to 4 sensors. This makes it possible to monitor several measuring points simultaneously.
Typical measuring range:
Concentration range H2SO4: 80 to 100 wt%
Temperature range: 20 to 90 °C
Customer benefits
The robust sensor design and the selection of special materials, such as Hastelloy C2000, ensure long system operating life in the process.
LiquiSonic® reduces time-consuming laboratory measurements:
- Time required: 1 hour per day
Compared to conductivity and density measurement, it generates LiquiSonic® a clear signal in the concentration range of 80 to 100 wt%, thus providing reliable process information at all times.
LiquiSonic® ensures precise analysis and monitoring of the H2SO4 or oleum concentration with continuous data recording.
