Numerical simulation of sulfur deposition in the cone section of chelated iron desulphurization reactor

Chelated iron desulfurization process is widely used in natural gas industry, the enrichment and removal of sulfur particles is a key factor for stable operation of the reactor. The design of a cone section at the bottom of the reactor is helpful for the enrichment, settlement and recovery of sulfur particles. In order to avoid long-term deposition and agglomeration of sulfur particles at the side wall of the cone section, the disturbed gas should be injected at different heights. The flow rate of the disturbed air should not be too small, so as to avoid sulfur deposition at the side wall of the cone section. It should also not be too large, so as to prevent the settlement difficulty of the sulfur particles. Eulerian multiphase model was used to simulate sulfur deposition in the cone section. The effects of sulfur concentration and air flow velocity on sulfur deposition were studied. The results showed that sulfur concentration had little influence on the settling velocity, while the effect of air flow velocity on the settlement was obvious. The deposition rate of sulfur particle decreased with the increasing of gas velocity, the maximum air flow velocity of the system should be less than 0.75 m/s to ensure the settlement of the sulfur particles.