Comparison Between Gas Sweetening Processes & Economical Feasibility Study of Sour Flare Gas Sweetening by Catalytic Conversion of H2S to Methyl Mercaptan

Iran, one of the largest greenhouse gas producers in the world, burns hundreds of thousands of tons of sour gases annually, through the flare systems. Sweetening of sour gases, using amin absorption process, with combination of Claus process is the most common process, with a huge amount of sulfur, as by product. In this paper, a feasibility study has been done for "catalytic conversion of H2S to methyl mercaptan" as a novel process for sweetening of sour gases. This investigation shows that the use of this method has a great benefit in comparison with the H2S -to-sulfur conversion processes. The study examined one of Iranian petrochemical companies that burns more than 80,000 tons of gas per year. The results show that by the catalytic conversion of H2S to methyl mercaptan in this petrochemical complex, while producing one of the country's most needed strategic materials, the gross profit of the project is more than 25 million US$ annually. The benefit of this method is 4 times of the H2S to Sulfur method and the total cost will return in less than two years.