Method and apparatus for decomposing ammonia fumes having a high

Abstract

A method of decomposing ammonia fumes which have a high hydrogen sulfide content, in particular, deacidizer fumes from an NH.sub.3 -H.sub.2 S closed-circuit scrubber of coke oven gases, in which the washed-out NH.sub.3 is enriched. The inventive method comprises burning a heating fuel with an amount of oxygen to generate combustion gases having a low oxygen content, heating the deacidizer fumes by direct contact with the combustion gases in order to form a hot mixture of the gases and deacidizer fumes and subsequently directing the hot mixture through a decomposition zone. A burner for decomposing the ammonia fumes comprises a cylindrical housing which has a closed end wall and an opposite opened end. A tube sheet is situated in the housing spaced from the closed end to define a combustion air chamber therein into which combustion air is fed for passage through a plurality of tubes which extend through the tube sheet and terminate in combustion air discharges at their opposite ends. An inlet is provided for coke oven gases in the space around the tubes between the tube sheet and discharge openings in a plate carrying the tubes adjacent their discharge ends. The coke oven gases are circulated from the coke oven gas chamber defined around the tubes through the small size discharge openings between the tubes to discharge the coke oven gases in the vicinity of the combustion air for combustion of the gases in a central gas flame flow. In addition, the ammonia fumes are directed in an annular jacket around the housing through an annular discharge at the periphery of the coke oven gas flame.