Nouri Petrochemical Company in Bushehr Province has started a new environmental project to sweeten the gas sent to the flare stacks using amine gas treating system, director of the company’s Health, Safety and Environment Department said.
“The project, which is to cost nearly $28.5 million, is in the early stages of construction and is expected to be completed in two years,” Mahmoud Sadeh was also quoted as saying by the Oil Ministry’s news agency Shana.
When operational, the project will produce about 65,000 tons of LPG, 60,000 tons of ammonium sulfate fertilizer and 18,300 tons of sweet natural gas, he added.
Considering that the flare of Nouri Petrochemical Company contains a small amount of sulfur compounds, the project has been planned to separate the sulfur from gases.
Gas flaring refers to the combustion of associated petroleum gas generated during various processes in oil and gas refineries and petrochemical plants.
Flare gas recovery is the process of recovering gases that are normally burnt, so they can be used as fuel. Among other things, it results in reducing greenhouse gas emissions.
Amine gas treating, also known as amine scrubbing, gas sweetening and acid gas removal, refers to a group of processes that use aqueous solutions of various alkylamines (commonly referred to simply as amines) to remove hydrogen sulfide and carbon dioxide from gases. It is a common process used in refineries, petrochemical plants, natural gas processing plants and other industries.
Processes within oil refineries or chemical processing plants that remove hydrogen sulfide are referred to as "sweetening" processes because the odor of the processed products is improved by the absence of hydrogen sulfide.
The sweetened gas will be used as furnace fuel and prevent the transmission of gases to flare stacks, Sadeh said.
Ammonium Sulfate Production
The sulfur separated from sour gases will be turned into a product called ammonium sulfate that has a high added value and significant environmental benefits, he added.
The primary use of ammonium sulfate is as a fertilizer for alkaline soils. In the soil, the ammonium ion is released and forms a small amount of acid, lowering the pH balance of the soil, while contributing essential nitrogen for plant growth.
It is also used as an agricultural spray adjuvant for water-soluble insecticides, herbicides and fungicides. There, it functions to bind iron and calcium cations that are present in both well water and plant cells.
Nouri Petrochemical Company has also started producing low-sulfur fuel to conform with the International Maritime Organization’s new regulations for a 0.5% global sulfur cap for marine fuels.
Machinery and equipment in the plant have been upgraded to reduce the current sulfur level in mazut and diesel from 3.5% to 0.5%.
The company has invested $120 million to build a (heavy end) refining facility in which sulfur content in mazut and diesel will be reduced to less than 0.5%.
Under the new global cap, as of January 2020, ships had to use marine fuels with a sulfur content of not more than 0.5% against the current limit of 3.5% to reduce the amount of sulfur oxide, particularly for populations living close to ports and coasts.
Located in southern Bushehr Province, Nouri is one of the world’s largest production plants for aromatics. It is a subsidiary of the Persian Gulf Petrochemical Industries Company, the biggest consortium of Iranian petrochemical producers.
The plant's output of over 4.5 million tons per year, including benzene, paraxylene, orthoxylene and raffinate, are mainly shipped to Persian Gulf Arab countries as well India, China and South Korea.
