To help raise sulfur and food-grade carbon dioxide production at Shahid Hasheminejad Gas Processing Company in Khorasan Razavi Province, an acid gas enrichment (AGE) unit has come on stream in the plant, the head of the refinery said.
“The project will help increase annual sulfur output in the plant by 11,000 tons and reduce SO2 emissions by 22,000 tons per year,” the Oil Ministry’s news agency Shana also quoted Yahya Feyzi as saying.
The plan is aimed at reducing fuel and catalyst consumption by 14 million cubic meters and 110 tons per year respectively, he added.
“The new unit will add at least $10 million to the refinery’s annual revenues, as it will enable the factory to increase its industrial and food-grade CO2 production by 200,000 tons annually.”
CO2 is a natural and essential component of life, accounting for 0.03% of the atmosphere. Plants require CO2 to grow (photosynthesis), and in the process release oxygen into the atmosphere. CO2 is produced naturally by the decay of all organic materials.
It is also a byproduct of many industrial processes, emitted whenever fossil fuels are burned. But in environmental terms, CO2 is cause for concern because it is a terrible contributor to global warming and many countries have pledged to reduce it in line with international treaties like the Kyoto protocol – an international agreement to reduce CO2 emissions and greenhouse gases in the atmosphere.
Nevertheless, in industrial gas trade, CO2 is an important element with several useful applications, including environmentally-friendly processes in which the gas replaces much more damaging products.
In the food industry, CO2 is used throughout the cold chain to ensure quality, freshness and food safety. In Europe, more than 50% of CO2 are consumed by the beverage industry and worldwide, this amount used in beverages looks set to increase as people in developing economies such as India and China develop a greater taste for carbonated soft drinks.
Acid gas enrichment (AGE) includes a group of methods used to upgrade low quality off-gas from treating units to higher quality Claus plant feed or to a smaller volume stream suitable for reinjection.
The process objective is to maximize CO2 slip and minimize the H2S leak into vent gas from the system, thereby producing a gas enriched in H2S to the greatest extent possible.
According to Feyzi, natural gas production at the company increased by 500,000 cubic meters per day last winter.
“Our winter plan was to supply 55 million cubic meters per day to the eastern regions of the country but the figure reached 55.5 mcm,” he added.
The gas refinery receives gas from Khangiran Gas Field and supplies natural gas to the provinces of North Khorasan, Khorasan Razavi, South Khorasan, Golestan, Mazandaran and some parts of Semnan.
