Amoco Corporation

The Standard Oil Company

Min-Hsiun Lee

Paul T Pendergraft

John J McGovern

Sulfur species are removed from a Claus plant tailgas stream by contacting with ZnO producing ZnS. ZnS is regenerated to ZnO by contacting with dilute O.sub.2 under conditions for reducing the volume of regeneration recycle to the Claus plant.

Sulfur recovery process using metal oxide absorbent

Sulfur species are removed from a Claus plant tail gas stream by contacting with zinc oxide in the presence of sufficient reducing equivalents for conversion of sulfur compounds to hydrogen sulfide. In another aspect, sulfur compounds are converted to hydrogen sulfide prior to contacting with zinc oxide.

Sulfur recovery system

Sulfur species are removed from a Claus plant tailgas stream by contacting with ZnO producing ZnS which is regenerated to ZnO by dilute O.sub.2. Following regeneration, freshly regenerated ZnO is purged with an effective reducing gas stream.

Sulfur recovery process using metal oxide absorbent with reducing gas

Regenerator effluent produced by regenerating ZnS to ZnO is provided with a stream containing H.sub.2 S from the feed to a Claus plant to a catalytic oxidation zone where O.sub.2 present is consumed. The effluent from the catalytic oxidation zone is provided to a Claus catalytic reaction zone.

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Tulsa, OK, United States of America

Min-Hsiun Lee