Published February 1973
In view of the vast amount of published information on sulfuric acid, this report concentrates on the pollution control aspects of the industry. A PEP report on the Removal of SO, from Stack Gases was concerned primarily with stack gases from power plants, but some of the processes are also applicable to the removal of SO, from the tail gas from a sulfuric acid plant. In this report, we have attempted to avoid overlap with the original stack gas report and a supplemental report now under preparation.
Pollutants can arise from the production of sulfuric acid or as a result of its use. When acid is used it may be only partially consumed. For economic and ecological reasons the reclamation of acid must be undertaken. In some cases concentration may be all that is required; in other cases reclamation may require burning and reprocessing the sulfur dioxide so produced to make fresh acid. Pollution control in the concentration or regeneration processes may differ from that used in control of emissions from acid plants. In acid manufacture, the process may be modified to reduce emissions (for example, by using interstage absorption or by operating under pressure) or a tail gas cleanup process may be used. The abilities of these processes to control SO, emissions are examined in this report, and some attempt is made to assess the relative costs of some of them.
The production of sulfuric acid from sulfur was selected as the main area of concern, and production from other raw materials such as ores or hydrogen sulfide is not covered. Many of the techniques described in this report are also applicable to these other feedstocks, but some modifications may be necessary in the details of the designs. Materials of construction are discussed in various parts of the report, but a comprehensive treatment of corrosion was impractical in view of the nature of the data and the time available.
Other PEP Related Reports:
