Saudi Aramco eliminates Claus catalyst deactivation caused by aromatics using activated carbon

Saudi Aramco has faced rapid and chronic Claus catalyst deactivation induced by aromatics in feed acid gas at two of its largest gas plants. The company installed a regenerable activated carbon beads upstream (CBU) of the sulfur recovery units to remove aromatics contaminants before they reach the converter beads. A discussion covers the major design issues of the BTX removal units to treat acid feeding downstream plants, e.g., designing a carbon bed unit, materials construction, and vessel orientation; major commissioning issues, i.e., CBU performance and impact on catalyst deactivation and first maintenance and inspection shutdown. This is an abstract of a paper presented at the 57th annual Laurance Reid Gas Conditioning Conference (Norman, OK 2/25-28/2007).