NEW SULFUR MELTING
TECHNOLOGY
Mark Gilbreath - USA
• Devco
- Sulfur Forming Units
- EPC Contracts and PM
- Modular construction methods and experience
• River Consulting
- Engineers for Material Handling, Balance of Plant , Marine, Electrical &
Controls
• CTI
- Decades of Sulfur Technology and Operations
- Former Freeport Sulfur staff experts
- Proven Melter Technology
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Established 1979
Offices: Tulsa, OK; Al-Khobar, KSA; Doha,
Qatar; Beijing, China
Owned and operated California Sulphur
Company, Bay Sulfur Company & Devco
Australia
Process Engineering, Project Engineering,
Project Management, Project Controls,
Procurement & Facilities Integration of
Natural Gas & Refining Processes
Projects Range from Equipment sale to
Turn-Key installation
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Established 1981
Offices - Columbus, OH; New Orleans,
LA; Pittsburgh, PA; Tulsa, OK
230 + Designers, Engineers & Project
Managers
Industries Served – Natural Gas,
Refining, Power, Food, Materials
Handling, Marine
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Project Management
Project Controls
Multidiscipline Engineering
Design- civil, structural, mechanical,
instrumentation, electrical
Control System Integration
Procurement
Estimating
Construction Management
Freeport Sulphur Company
Freeport Research & Engineering
1950
Pit Melters
1964
CTI
1993
1998
Agitated Tank
Melters
Agitated Tank
Melters
Continuous Removal
of Non-Meltables
Internal Coils
External Heat
Exchangers
External Heat
Exchangers
Submerged
Combustion
Melting
Easy Clean Out
Pump Tank
CTI Melter, 1,000T/d
MODULARIZATION – SULFUR MELTER PLANT
• External Heat Exchangers – NO COILS IN
MELTER VESSEL
• Thermal efficient – small melter vessel
• Solids clean out during operation
• HEX maintenance during operation
Designed for 155 stph dry basis, Higher moisture, Moderate acidity
No steam coils in melter vessel
Based on proven concepts
External Heat Exchanges (HEX) give high heat transfer coefficients
Installed spare Heat Exchanger and Sulfur HEX Pump
Melter tank elevated with concave bottom allows for continuous removal of
melter non-meltables to the pump tank
• Pump tank designed for quick non-meltables removal while hot
• Above allows longer periods between major turnarounds resulting in higher
availability
• Simple controls – flow rate of solid sulfur feed
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Tank, baffles and agitator all
designed to create strong vortex
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Liquid height to diameter ratio
sized for effective agitation
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Solid sulphur and high
temperature liquid sulphur inlet
feeds both directed & mix in vortex
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Vortex causes immediate
immersion of sulphur solids in
liquid sulphur, expeditiously
wetting all surfaces, melting the
solids
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Raised tank with conical bottom
and sump to collect larger nonmeltable solids.
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Continuous underflow constantly
removes non-meltables creating a
“Self-Cleaning” melter.
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High volume sulphur melting units with
capacities up to 4,000 tons per day.
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External heat exchanger (HEX) gives high
heat transfer coefficient, allowing high
melting rates
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High circulation rate through HEX for
efficient heating and melting
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All vessels and equipment are above
ground.
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Vertical “in-tank” pumps.
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All molten sulphur is contained during
unplanned shutdown.
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Customizable to meet specific customer
requirements.
AIR
Flow pattern of
molten sulfur.
Vortex formed
with hot area in
vortex, along
bottom and side
walls.
HEAT EXCHANGERS VS STEAM COILS FOR MELTING SULFUR
SULFUR HEAT TRANSFER COEFFICIENTS
HEAT TRANSFER COEFFICIENT (BTU/HR FT2 °F)
120
100
80
60
40
20
0
0
1
2
3
4
5
LINEAR VELOCITY (ft/sec)
6
7
8
15
• Bucket elevators and screw conveyors – stainless steel
• Concrete in silos - epoxy lined acid resistance concrete
• Silo cones - Stainless Steel lined Carbon Steel structure
• Melter vessel is carbon steel – ceramic brick in splash zone (top)
• Sulfur pump tank - carbon steel
• Heat exchangers -carbon steel
• Piping, valves, sulfur filters in contact with molten sulfur – carbon steel
MODULARIZATION – SULFUR MELTER PLANT
Advantages:
Candidates for modularization
• Greater estimate accuracy
• Controlled fabrication environment
• Consistent workforce
- Drives quality
- Controls schedule attainment
• Labor cost exposure reduced vs. field
construction
• Simpler foundation design
• Superior material control
• Schedule risk reduced
• Relocation of Equipment would be
cost effective
Melter – partial
modularization – partial field
erected
Piperacks, Utilities
Sulfur Filters
Motor control rooms/
control room
Misraq Filtration Unit
• Silo on left – Filter modules on right
SUPPLEMENT INFORMATION ON FOLLOWING PAGES:
Mark Gilbreath
mgilbreath@devcousa.com
770.377.7348
6846 S. Canton Suite 400
Tulsa, OK 74126
USA
www.houstoninterests.com
SUPPLEMENTAL INFORMATION
Mark Gilbreath - USA
• Truck unloading on right – Silo in Center – Lime silo and melter left.
• Truck unloading on right – Filter modules on left
• Piperack Foundations
• Site View – May 2015
• Pipe Rack Foundations
• Silo Roof Preparation –
• Truck Unloading Deck Steel
• Bucket Elevator Base
• Sulfur Tank Modules in Fabrication
• HEX Modules
• Scheduled ready to ship – 4.5.2015 - 5.5.2015
• Sulfur Filter Modules in Fabrication
2x 2,000 mtpd Devco II Sulphur Forming Units
2x 2,000 mtpd Silo Feed Conveyors
Joint projects across multiple offices from
employees in Tulsa, Columbus & Pittsburgh.
Process / Project Engineering, Project
Management and Procurement
Structural, Instrumental & Electrical
Design, Conveyor Design / Supply
Piping Design
500,000 TPY Sulphur Purification
Facility
TIC: $78.5 MM
Start date – December 13, 2012
On-line (Projected) – Jan 2015
Joint projects across multiple offices
from employees in Tulsa, Columbus,
New Orleans & Pittsburgh.
Project Oversight,
Process / Project Engineering
Project Engineering, Project
Management and Procurement
Civil, Structural, Instrumental
& Electrical Design
Plant Layout & Piping
Design
Fabrication
Equipment with long deliveries
• Pressure Leaf Sulphur Filters: 30-46 weeks
• Sulphur Pumps: 36 weeks
• Heat Exchangers: 30 weeks
• Scrubber
– Scrubber proprietary equipment: 36 weeks
– Scrubber ID fan: 36 weeks
Sulfur Storage
• The sulfur storage system consists of two 60 ft. diameter concrete silos with
elevated 50 degree cones and a screw feeder reclaim system.
• Each of the two silos will be designed to store 6,000 tons of sulfur at 65 pcf. The
final silo design including hopper slope and height is based on material testing.
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Silos equipped with elevated cones (50 degree slope) for gravity feed to the reclaim
system.
The hopper are mild steel construction with a S.S. liner.
The hoppers have vibrators around the perimeter to assist with material flow.
A Screw feeder is used to feed to the melter feed conveyors at a variable rate up to
200 tph @ 65 PCF.
Openings are placed in the bottom of the silo for ventilation and access.
Melter Feed System
• The melter feed system consists of two 24” BW conveyors rated at 200
tph at 65 pcf to feed the melter. Only one conveyor is needed to feed
the melter at a time assuring sulfur feed to the melter while allowing for
maintenance on the conveyors.
• The lime storage system consists of a 12 ft. diameter welded steel silo
with a target box and bin vent filter to receive hydrated lime by selfunloading trucks. The lime silo will be located in a tower over the
melter feed conveyors and gravity feed the melter feed conveyors.
• Conveyors:
– Two (2) 24” BW feed conveyors is located in an open common gallery to the
melter.
• Lime Storage Silo:
– Lime silo is 12’ diameter equipped with a bin vent filter and piping for receiving
lime from self-unloading pneumatic trucks.
Sulfur filtering is a fairly simple process:
• After melting and neutralizing, dirty sulfur is collected in the filter feed
tank, located next to the sulfur melter.
• The filter feed pumps draw sulfur from the tank and provide sufficient
pressure to send sulfur through the filters and into the clean sulfur
collection tank.
• The actual filtration is done by filter aid, which is deposited on the
screens during the pre-coating process, prior to filtering.
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The filter screens provide structure to hold a thin layer of filter aid in place.
As the dirty sulfur passes through the filter aid, the fine solid contaminants are too
large to pass through
• After passing through the filters, the filtrate sulfur (clean sulfur) is
collected and pumped to offsite liquid sulfur storage
200 MMSCFD Gas Processing Plant
Start Date – June 1, 2012
On-line – June 2013
200 MMSCFD Gas Processing
Plant
TIC $250 MM
Joint projects across multiple offices from
employees in Tulsa, Columbus & Pittsburgh.
Process / Project Engineering
& Procurement
Man Hours: 1,542
Civil, Structural, Piping,
Instrumentation & Electrical Design
Man Hours: 23,442
Fabrication and
Construction
200 MMSCFD Natural Gas Processing
Plant
Start date – October 8, 2012
On-line – August 2013
200 MMSCFD Natural Gas Processing Plant
TIC: $350 MM
Joint projects across multiple offices from
employees in Tulsa, Columbus & Pittsburgh.
Process / Project Engineering
& Procurement
Man Hours: 3,765
Civil, Structural, Mechanical &
Electrical Design
Man Hours: 25,613
Plant Layout & Piping Design
Man Hours: 13,313
Fabrication & Construction
Energy Transfer / Regency
Red Bluff - Texas
SUPPLEMENT INFORMATION ON FOLLOWING PAGES:
Mark Gilbreath
mgilbreath@devcousa.com
770.377.7348
6846 S. Canton Suite 400
Tulsa, OK 74126
USA
www.houstoninterests.com