Clariant to Supply Sorbents for RTI Desulfurization Process

Clariant has signed a global licensing agreement to supply their solid sorbent material for RTI International’s warm gas desulfurization process (WDP) technology.

WDP is an advanced market-ready technology for producing cleaner energy and chemicals from coal and other high-sulphur feedstocks. It enables sulphur-containing gas streams, such as synthesis gas (or syngas) from coal or petcoke gasification, to be cleaned at elevated temperatures (250-650°C), thus reducing or eliminating the need for substantial gas cooling and expensive heat recovery.

A solid fluidizable sorbent to be supplied by Clariant is key to the WDP technology due to its unique characteristics. Able to function across a wide range of operating temperatures and pressures, the quick-reacting sorbent has a high capacity for adsorbing sulphur, removing H2S and COS to very low levels and allowing customers to treat large gas streams volumes.

The sorbent is regenerable with a low attrition rate and long cycle lengths without major replacement requirements, thus reducing the need for shut-downs. It will be a key addition to Clariant’s other extensive and highly proficient adsorbents and syngas conversion products. The enhanced sorbent will provide truly integrated solutions to meet the increasingly stringent requirements of the industry.

WDP technology uses a novel transport reactor design and this unique high capacity, regenerable, attrition-resistant solid sorbent with excellent performance. The technology can achieve up to 99.9 percent removal of total sulphur from syngas at temperatures as high as 650°C and over a wide range of sulphur concentrations.

“Clariant has always played a pioneering role in advanced material development for process improvement. We are delighted to be appointed as the exclusive supplier of this important sorbent for RTI’s warm gas desulfurization technology. A partnership with such an eminent organization only validates further Clariant’s commitment to excellence and innovation,” said Stefan Heuser, senior vice president & general manager business unit catalysts, Clariant.

“Cooperation with a well-respected, innovative and reliable catalyst partner is essential for RTI’s new process development. Our relationship with Clariant spans several decades (including their predecessor companies Sud-Chemie and United Catalysts), and they have been a reliable supplier for all of the sorbent and catalyst materials used in the successful scale-up and demonstration of our WDP technology,” added Raghubir Gupta, PhD, senior vice president, energy technology division, RTI.