A new technology aimed at re-establishing a global sulphur supply/demand balance

The world's sulphur supply is mainly determined by involuntary production of elemental sulphur during the processing of oil and gas. As a result, sulphur supply is decoupled from demand, resulting in an imbalance between the two. For almost two decades, sulphur supply has exceeded demand, which has raised significant concerns for oil and gas producers such as where to store all of the excess sulphur, and how to transport a low-value commodity to market in an economically attractive fashion. Black and Veatch is involved in the development of a new technology called sulphur to energy process (STEPTM) which has the potential to assist in balancing global sulphur supply and demand, as well as affording other benefits such as low-emission energy production. This paper presented the potential merits of the STEP as a means to reestablish a global sulphur supply/demand balance for the world trading market. It explored the other potential benefits that may result from the use of this new technology and compared STEP to other technologies and operating schemes that regulate sulphur supply. It was concluded that STEP has the potential to allow the processor to produce elemental sulphur when demand is high, or to provide safe and ecological disposal when demand is low, with the added benefits of energy recovery from the sulphur combustion process, and sour gas reservoir sweetening over time as sulphur dioxide reacts with hydrogen sulphide present in the reservoir. 13 refs., 3 tabs., 22 figs