Institute Gipronikel LLC, Saint Petersburg, Russia:

Yu. V. Vasilev, Lead Researcher, Candidate of Technical Sciences, e-mail: vasilevyuv@nornik.ru
O. I. Platonov, Independent Expert, Candidate of Technical Sciences, e-mail: oipla@yandex.ru

Treatment of the Vanyukov furnace sulphurous off-gas at the Elemental Sulphur Production Shop of the Copper Smelter of MMC Norilsk Nickel’s Polar Division involves thermal methane reduction of pre-scrubbed furnace gas followed by catalytic conversion of reduced gas. The only catalytic converter (R-1-I) available at the above site is supposed to simultaneously process both hydrogen sulphide and organosulphur compounds (primarily carbonyl sulphide) within a mean temperature range of 240–270 ^oC, which process requires high-activity catalysts. In order to identify the most active industrial catalyst for single-stage conversion of sulphurous gases, the authors analysed the site’s monitoring data to draw a quantitative activity comparison of a number of catalysts during early operation in the following mean optimum ranges of catalyst temperatures and volume velocities: 240–280 ^oC and 400–600 h^–1. Out of all the catalysts tested in the R-1-I reactor till 2015, the alumina catalyst AOK-78-59 demonstrated the highest activity in terms of hydrogen sulphide conversion, whereas the catalyst O-K with the largest specific surface area (~300 m²/g) was found to have the highest overall activity in terms of general sulphur conversion. The titanium oxide catalyst CRS-31 demonstrated the least activity in the R-1-I reactor. Combination charge with Co – Mo/Al₂O₃-catalyst did not prove to be effective.

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