NOx Pollution Analysis for a Sulfur Recovery Unit Thermal Reactor

A sulfur recovery unit (SRU) thermal reactor is the most important equipment in a sulfur plant. It is negatively affected by high temperature operations. In this paper, NOx emissions from the SRU thermal reactors are simulated. Both the prototype thermal reactor and its modifications, including changing fuel mass fraction, changing inlet air quantity, changing inlet oxygen mole fraction, and changing burner geometry, are analyzed to investigate their influences on NOx emissions. In respect of the fuel mass fraction, the simulation results show that the highest NO emission occurs at a zone 1 fuel mass fraction of 0.375, around which the reactor maximum temperature and the zone 1 average temperature reach maximum values. Concerning the inlet air quantity, the highest NO emission occurs when the inlet air quantity is 2.4 times the designed inlet air quantity. This is very close to the inlet air quantity at which the maximum average temperature occurs. Regarding the inlet oxygen mole fraction, the NO emission increases as the inlet oxygen mole fraction increases. With regard to the burner geometry, the NO emission increases as the clearance of the burner acid gas tip increases. In addition, the NO emission increases as the swirling strength increases.