Journal of Natural Gas Science and Engineering 19 (2014) 105e115

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Journal of Natural Gas Science and Engineering

journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/jngse

Preventing corrosion and tube failure in sulfur condenser during

normal operation, startup, and shutdown of the south pars gas
processing plant (case study)
Alireza Safadoost*, Mehdi Davoodi, Seyed Ali Akbar Mansoori
Development & Engineering Management Department, South Pars Gas Complex Company, Assaluyeh, Iran

a r t i c l e i n f o a b s t r a c t

Article history: In each sour gas processing plant, the sulfur recovery unit is one of the most important processes
Received 2 March 2014 regarding environmental aspects, since improper performance of this unit can impose critical problems
Received in revised form on the environment. Gas containing H2S is sent to a sulfur recovery unit to recover the sulfur and avoid
3 May 2014
venting H2S to the atmosphere. Corrosion is a major concern in the sulfur recovery process due to the
Accepted 3 May 2014
presence of a high percentage of hydrogen sulfide, as well as high temperatures in most of the unit’s
Available online
equipment. The leaking tubes were found in the bottom of the low-pressure steam condenser. A set of
operational parameters such as H2S, CO2, and hydrocarbon concentration, reaction furnace temperature,
Keywords:
Sulfur recovery
process configuration, cold or hot bypass need to demonstrate the cause of the corrosion issues
Corrosion encountered in the sulfur recovery condenser. The main objective of this paper is to thoroughly inves-
Condenser tigation about root cause analysis of corrosion problem that is occur in sulfur recovery from a gas pro-
Start-up and shut-down procedure cessing plant located in south of Iran. Moreover, it will propose protective actions to avoid reoccurrence
of corrosion problems. This paper will review potential corrosion mechanisms and operational data
which illustrate the importance of warm up and cool down during startup and shutdown procedure and
also bad operation.
Ó 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

1. Introduction
Sulfur, one of the principle by-products of natural gas produc-
tion, is of a much more substantial nature. Sulfur is recovered in its
elemental form from the hydrogen sulfide content in natural gas.
The yellow product is kept in liquid form by maintaining it at about
150
C. At this temperature, sulfur is about 80% denser than water,
and has a low viscosity. The feed to the Sulfur recovery plant, which
applies the Claus process, consists of H2S, CO2 moisture, and trace of
miscellaneous light hydrocarbons. These have been dissolved or
entrained in the rich amine used to scrub the sour natural gas. The
sulfur recovery process is used for recovering elemental sulfur from
acid gas. The modified Claus process basically consists of burning
one third of the H2S to produce sulfur according to the following
reactions:
* Corresponding author. Tel.: þ98 9357918869.
E-mail addresses: a.safadoost@ce.iut.ac.ir, safa_iut@yahoo.com (A. Safadoost).
1 1 2 1
H2 S þ O 4 SO þ H S þ H2 O (1)
2 2 3 2 3 2 3
2
SO2 þ 2H2 S4 S2 þ 2H2 O (2)
3
Reaction (1) takes place in the reaction furnace by burning one
third of the total acid gas with air. Reaction (2) is between H2S and
SO2 to form sulfur, and begins immediately in the combustion zone
of the reaction furnace. This requires further contact between the
processed gas and the Claus Catalyst at controlled temperatures in
converters following each other in series, carrying the reaction
towards completion. The sulfur vapor formed by the reaction (2) is
condensed and recovered as liquid. Corrosion is the main concern
in each sulfur recovery plant. The compounds that cause corrosion
in the sulfur recovery process equipment are SO2, SO3, H2S, CO2,
and elemental sulfur. H2S, and CO2 are the main corrosive agents in
the petroleum industry (Garcia et al., 2001).
Lins and Guimara (2007) investigated the corrosion of carbon
steel heat exchangers in constant contact with H2S, CO2, SO2, and
SO3 compounds present in the acid gas of the Sulfur Recovery Unit

http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jngse.2014.05.003
1875-5100/Ó 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
106 A. Safadoost et al. / Journal of Natural Gas Science and Engineering 19 (2014) 105e115
(Lins and Guimara, 2007). The air and gas ratio is an important
parameter in the Claus Process. If an excess of air occurs, more than
1/3 of H2S will react, creating an excess of SO2. This compound can
react with water, producing corrosive acids such as H2SO4. Lobo
(1982) reported that the corrosion in boilers is caused by sulfuric
acid that is a product of the oxidation of SO2eSO3, which mixes
with water vapor and produces gaseous acid (Lobo, 1982). The acid
in a gaseous state condenses in the colder parts of boilers. Corrosion
caused by sulfuric acid occurs by an electrochemical mechanism,
and is usually localized corrosion. Another probable reaction is the
oxidation of the SO2 to produce SO3. The SO3 is a reactive substance,
and a strong oxidant that reacts with metallic oxides to form sulfate
(Craig and Anderson, 1995). Steel corrosion due to SO2 usually oc-
curs in a form of pitting (Roberge, 1999).
If a lack of air occurs, less than 1/3 of H2S will react and H2S will
then be in excess in reaction (1). The most familiar forms of carbon
steel corrosion when in contact with a H2S environment are: sulfide
stress cracking, hydrogen stress cracking, hydrogen blistering,
localized corrosion (pitting) (Ramos et al., 1982), and cracking in the
welded region (Salles, 1990).
The stress corrosion cracking caused by H2S depends on its
concentration, temperature, and the pH of the solution (Chen et al.,
2005).
Another corrosive threat is H2CO3. CO2 dissolves in water to
produce H2CO3, which reduces the pH of water and is very
aggressive to steels (Craig and Anderson, 1995). The presence of H2S
in the environment with CO2 intensifies the corrosion of carbon
steel. The corrosivity of CO2 depends on its water solubility. CO2
produces localized corrosion (pitting) on steels. Water content
control is necessary owing to the severe corrosion of the steel
caused by sulfur in the presence of water at room temperature. This
corrosion process is due to the production of SO2 and H2S.
Sulfur, in the presence of water, causes localized corrosion on
steels due to the production of SO2 and H2S. Dutra and Nunes
(1999) reported that the corrosion caused by sulfur on steels oc-
curs in the colder part of equipment due to the condensation of
gases (Dutra and Nunes, 1999). Sulfidation is a mechanism of
corrosion related to the presence of impurities in sulfur
compounds.
2. Case study
South pars gas processing plant, phase 5, is equipped with 3 bed
Claus sulfur recovery unit with hot gas bypass system as a reheater
(Fig. 1). As it noted in Introduction, Acid gas consist of H2S, SO2, H2O
and etc. the last laboratory result for acid gas composition is pre-
sented in Table 1.
To eliminate produced sulfur in converter catalyst beds, three
condensers are provided that work at 169, 129 and 128
C in order
to their location (Fig. 2). The purpose of the sulfur condenser is to
remove energy from the process gas, condense the sulfur product
to the liquid phase, and remove the sulfur product from the pro-
cessed gas stream at each intermediate point. Phase 5 is equipped
with a 6 barg steam generator for the first and second condenser.
The final condenser is a boiler feed water heater with which the
temperature can be controlled (Fig. 2). Table 2 summarizes the
performance of the exchangers.
Sulfur condensers serve the primary function of cooling and
condensing sulfur formed in the upstream reaction step. Sulfur
condensers are horizontal, kettle type shell and tube boilers. In
addition to condensing product sulfur from the process gases, the
liquid sulfur must also be separated from the process gases before
they flow to the next processing step. This is normally done in an
oversized outlet channel. Ideally, sulfur is condensed from the
processed gas at the cool condenser tube wall, flowing from the
tube into the outlet channel. It is then separated from the processed
gas, and is drained from the condenser. Sulfur seals, look boxes, and
rundown lines can have an impact on the sulfur condensers. The
ability to observe the sulfur production from each condenser is a
very valuable process evaluation and troubleshooting tool. The
sulfur rate, consistency of rate, color, temperature, and presence of
bubbles are all important information items that can only be ob-
tained from individual seals and look boxes. Each sulfur condenser
drain line, sulfur seal, look box, and rundown line to the sulfur pit is
fully steam jacketed. The drain line between the condenser and seal
should have a steam jacketed plug valve located as close as practical
to the condenser to allow on-line rodding of the drain line and
sulfur seal. Clear access must be provided for rodding the drain line,
and overhead access must be provided to rod the seal.
In May 2013, during cold start up (just after an annual overhaul
in April 2013), a sever fluctuation in the shell side water level of the
last condenser was observed and the startup procedure stopped
immediately (Figs. 3, 4). The First and the most possible cause of
fluctuation is tube rapture in the last condenser. An inspection team
exposed the sulfur dome in the right terminal of the condenser
(separation section) just after they opened condenser man-way
(Fig. 5). Inspection of the condenser tubes and also hydro-test
were done for both 2nd and last condenser (Fig. 6). Unfortunately
4 tubes in last condenser, and 7 tubes in 2nd condenser were
plugged. Also 117 seal welds in the last condenser, and 34 seal
welds in 2nd condenser needed relieving.
Before investigation on any possible corrosion mechanisms, it
was necessary to review what happened inters. The SRU passed 4
stages until May 2013; Normal operation (until 8-April-2013),
Planned shutdown (between 8and 13 April 2013), Overhaul (13
April to 12 May) and an Unsuccessful startup (13 and 14 May). Each
stage and also faults that occurred during these periods are
investigated separately.
2.1. Normal operation
It’s necessary to note, this stage, and all other stage studies are
only focused on corrosion. Other faults such as high temperature in
the 2nd and 3rd reactors, much fuel gas co-firing, low reaction
furnace temperature, and etc. were neglected and NOT discussed
here.
During normal operation, level and pressure of shell side, and
also outlet temperature of 2nd and last condenser are pored to find
any possibility of leakage before other stages:
As shown in Fig. 4, sever fluctuation was occurring in the last
condenser, especially between 12th March and the 8th April, but
continuous steam venting and intermitted blow down guided op-
erators to wrong way. They thought fluctuation just occurred by
venting so they started make up 2 or 3 times per week until annual
overhaul.
Continuous steam venting can cause level drop but its effect is
too small to make sever fluctuations. In other hand, the 2nd
condenser had steam venting but fluctuation isn’t mentioned in the
Distributed Control System (DCS) trend.
So the first sign of corrosion and rupturing in tubes is identified:
level fluctuation in water level. No attention to inspection and
maintenance team to check the condenser is the first and biggest
fault and reason of unwanted shutdown.
But what happened for 2nd condenser? And what reason
magnified corrosion phenomenon?
The other fault in the operation is that no consideration on
sulfur condensation in last condenser. The source of accumulated
sulfur in last condenser is plugging of seal-pots and the sign of it, is
lower/no sulfur production from the condenser during normal
operation.
A. Safadoost et al. / Journal of Natural Gas Science and Engineering 19 (2014) 105e115 107

Fig. 1. Scheme of SRU in phase 5.

108 A. Safadoost et al. / Journal of Natural Gas Science and Engineering 19 (2014) 105e115

Table 1 Table 2
The composition of acid gas. Performance parameter of condensers.

Component Mole % (dry basis) Performance parameter Condenser 1 Condenser 2 Condenser 3

CO2 65.449 Inlet temperatureÓ 221 192

H2S 33.493 322
C1 0.198 Outlet temperature 169 129 128
C2 0.195 Delta T 153 92 64
N2 0.86 Recovered sulfur (%) 45.3 11.4 1.6
Heat duty (kW) 1760 920 600
Steam production (bar) 5.5 4.2 1.2

It’s strongly suggested to check regular sulfur production from

the condenser during operation.
2.2. Planned shut-down
Level fluctuation was repeated in shut-down (Fig. 7), but oper-
ators tried to compensate this problem with makeup BFW. Still,
operators thought the sink of water is steam venting.
As shown in Fig. 7, fluctuation was magnified during shut-down,
but the bigger problem is pressure rises in condenser shell side
(Fig. 8). High pressure can cause rapture and failure into corroded
seal weld and tubes. Pressure rises maybe was biggest reason to
magnify the problem. Faults in shutdown didn’t end by level fluc-
tuation and high shell side pressure. Another fault is bad heat soak
and sulfur sweeping. During normal shutdown, heat soak is used to
drive sulfur out from catalyst beds. This minimizes the risk of sulfur
fire. Before planned shutdown, the operating temperatures of re-
actors are increased by at least 50
C. During heat soak, the H2S/SO2
ratio is set to 4 to achieve higher H2S flow through the reactor beds.
This ensures reduction of sulfates formed on alumina and restores
catalyst activity. The capacity of the unit is reduced to 50% during
this operation. During heat soak operation, sulfur recovery effi-
ciency is reduced. Needed time for heat soak technique is depended
on how long a unit should stop without acid gas. According to a
sulfur experts recommendation, 24 h is needed for a temporary or
hot shutdown and 48 h or more for cold shutdown is needed to
ensure successful heat soak. We return to DCS data to verify how
much done operation is on plan?
Heat soak started at 9-April at 6:00 AM and finished before 10-
April 00:00 (Fig. 9). This means that the time that was provided for
bed to work at higher temperature is just about 16.5 h. Other
infraction during heat soak is imperfect temperature rise in re-
actors. The contribution for each reactor in order their sequences
are: 25, 25 and 35
C.
After heat soak, sweeping by combusted gas is done until sulfur
production from the condenser stops. But before sweeping, we
should ensure of sulfur production from the condenser. Other
reason or possible source of accumulated sulfur in last condenser is
bad sweeping. Also during the sweeping step, reactor temperature
is so important, any sudden rise in temperature (especially when
just 1 thermocouple senses sudden rise) can caused by sulfur
burning in the reactor.
As mentioned before, this case study just done in the point of
fault that takes effect of corrosion. But it’s obviously in Fig. 10; sulfur
burning was occurred in the 2nd converter and maybe in 1st and

Fig. 2. Scheme of last condenser structure that combines with vessel for better separation.
 A. Safadoost et al. / Journal of Natural Gas Science and Engineering 19 (2014) 105e115 109

Fig. 3. Level fluctuation in shell side (DCS data). Until 11th March regular fluctuation (due to bleeding and feeding) was occurred, but after that 11th March and until overhaul severs
fluctuation was occurred. So it can be pressure during shutdown in last condenser shell side.

last converters. This phenomenon makes lot of problems such as
aging in the catalyst. To ensure be or not being of sulfur burning in
the 1st converter, excessive data from bed thermocouples are
received from DSC and plotted in Fig. 10.
2.3. Overhaul
A main fault during this step was no consideration to the level of
water in condenser shell side, when they find abnormal level
fluctuation during operation. It’s easily to find being or not being
leakage in condenser before corrosion shut the plant down.
2.4. Cold start-up
To start up the sulfur recovery unit after a long duration of being
shut down of plant in April 2013 annual overhaul, first step is to
warm up of unit. Which is progressively done by burning fuel gas
on the reaction furnace, and by adding high pressure steam to 2nd
and 3rd stage re-heaters. During warm up, the rate of temperature
increasing of the reaction furnace and the3 stages of catalytic re-
actors are important. If the temperature-increasing rate is higher
than a specific value recommended by manufacturer, it is possible
to be faced with refractory damage in the reaction furnace and

Fig. 4. Pressure in shell side and outlet temperature (DCS data). Data shows more sever fluctuation since 1st march in last condenser was occurred.
110 A. Safadoost et al. / Journal of Natural Gas Science and Engineering 19 (2014) 105e115

Fig. 5. Sulfur dome was formatted in separation section.

catalytic reactors. When the catalyst is new (free of sulfur), firing Burning a hydrocarbon with excess air produces sulfuric acid by
can be done with excess air so as to maintain the flame temperature present of the water and deposit sulfur on the catalyst bed.
under 1600
C in the combustion chambers. In this case, when the Stoichiometry air (mentioned with purple line (in the web
system has been polluted by sulfur, firing shall be as close as version) in Fig. 11) is easily calculated by approximated formula:
possible of stoichiometry and dilution steam or nitrogen shall be
injected with combustion air to limit flame temperature. In order to    
have a comparison between recommended and actual conditions of   FFG mole
h
*2:15 molemole O2
fuel gas
*MWAir
kg
unit warm up, and to know how much the actual conditions are Sto:Air ¼   (3)
h mole O2
close to recommended conditions, needed information such as 0:195 mole Air
*MWFG
reaction furnace temperature, temperature of catalytic reactors, air
and fuel gas flow rates to reaction furnace. These are collected from As shown in Fig. 11, especially in initial time the oxygen in sys-
DCS trends related to unit 108 train 3, referred to 13 of May 2013 tem was over-stoichiometry.
when warm up of unit carried out. Fuel gas flow rate to the burner Before investigated on faults in startup procedure, it’s necessary
will be slowly increased to warm up the unit according to the to familiarizing with corrosion mechanism in sulfur condenser
temperature ramping defined for reaction furnace and reactors. (internal corrosion).

Fig. 6. Last condenser tube sheet after hydro-test. Wet tubes in bottom of tube-sheet prove sever corrosion in lower tubes.
 A. Safadoost et al. / Journal of Natural Gas Science and Engineering 19 (2014) 105e115 111

Fig. 7. Level fluctuation during shutdown in last 2 condensers.

The brief timeline of investigated case is illustrated in Fig. 12.
3. Common causes of corrosion and condenser tube failure
Operation personnel indicated that there are problems during
unit startup with poor sulfur quality, as well as condenser tube
failure and plugging of the condenser rundowns. These problems
are believed to be associated with the formation of sulfuric acid and
high concentration of air in the flue gas and breaking through to the
converters and condensers during startup operation. These prob-
lems will continue unless the air concentration in the flue gas is
decreased. The key parameters monitoring of reaction furnace and
reactors during unit warm up, such as, air and fuel gas flow rate,
temperature of reaction furnace and bed reactors was done in this
work. CO2 affect synergically on H2S in corrosion phenomenon.
During studying corrosion rate, two significant parameters include
of existence of CO2 in natural gas and H2S/CO2 ratio should be
considered. But role of CO2 on corrosion rate is less important,
while qualitative analytical is implemented. So in this article due to
qualitative analytical (not experimental) nature of it; H2S/CO2
synergistic action has not been studied.
3.1. Acid formation
Excess oxygen for fuel gas firing during startup will form sul-
furic acid when mixed with sulfur and moisture in catalyst beds.
Sulfuric acid disintegrates the catalyst and increased pressure drop
as a result. The acid may also attack the catalyst support screens.
This leads to plugged seal legs. Even worse, the lower tubes in the
condensers will get a diluted sulfuric acid bath, and consequently

6 160
3rd cond(shell P)
140
5 3rd cond(Outlet T)

120
Outlet Temperature( C)

4
100
Pressure(Barg)

3 80

60
2

40
High pressure change in
1 shell side during shut down
20

0 0
8-Apr 9-Apr 10-Apr 11-Apr 12-Apr 13-Apr 14-Apr

Date

Fig. 8. High pressure during shutdown in last condenser shell side.

112 A. Safadoost et al. / Journal of Natural Gas Science and Engineering 19 (2014) 105e115

350
0 140000

330
0 Risk of
Sulfur 120000
310
0 Burning

Acid Gas flowrate (kg/hr)

Reactor Temperature ( C) 290
0 100000

270
0
8000
250
0
6000
230
0

210
0 4000
1st Reeactor
190
0 2nd Reeactor
Heat
Soak 3rd Reeactor 2000
170
0 Oper-
Acid GGas flowratee
aon
150
0 0
8-Apr
8 9-Apr 10-Apr 11-A
Apr 112-Apr 13-Apr
Date

Fig. 9. Reactor temperature during heat soak. During heat soak operation (pink zone), temperature need to be elevated (at least 50
C). But in this case temperature rise was lower
than standards. (For interpretation of the references to color in this figure legend, the reader is referred to the web version of this article.)

corrode. Putting a cold sulfur plant on-line, when done properly,
can take almost two days. During the initial portion of the start-
up, firing must be carefully controlled to avoid damaging the re-
fractory in the reaction furnace due to a too-rapid heat-up.
Therefore, only a small volume of flue gas exits from the reaction
furnace and the high pressure steam generator, during the first
12 h of the start-up. This amount of flue gas is really not sufficient
to warm the large weight of catalyst appreciably in the fixed bed
reactors. Hence, the water in the flue gas, produced by the com-
bustion of fuel gas in the reaction furnace, may condense on the
catalyst beds. In the presence of sulfur (which is always present in
the reactor beds after the unit is commissioned) and oxygen,
sulfuric acid is formed. This acid leaches out minerals from the
reactors’ refractory walls, corrodes the condenser tubes, forms a
pressure drop producing crust on the top of the catalyst beds, and
may result in seal leg plugging. To find possibility of acid forma-
tion in defined case, first of all possibility of water condensation in
bed should studied. By simulation in ProMaxÒ, water dew point of
combustion mixture is determined about 71
C, but also this
temperature will rise up to 80
C due to water condensation
phenomenon in catalyst pore.
According to the data and Fig. 13, in a lot of time 3 reactant of
acid formation reaction (H2O in combustion exhaust, O2 due to over
stoichiometry air injection, and Sulfur due to bad heat soak during
shutdown) had provided. These times for the reactor were 10 h for
the first reactor, 19 h for second reactor, and 15 h for last reactor. So
one of the corrosion extension reasons have found too. Also this
mechanism can be major source of corrosion in the second

Fig. 10. Evidence for sulfur burning in 1st reactor.

 A. Safadoost et al. / Journal of Natural Gas Science and Engineering 19 (2014) 105e115 113

120
100
00 Reeaction Furnece Temp.
FU
UEL GAS
100

RFT( C) and Fuelgas flow(kg/hr)

80
00 PR
ROCESS AIR
R

0.01*air flowrate(kg/hr)
Sto
o. Air
80

60
00
60

40
00
40

20
00
20

0 0
0:00 30
7:3 15:00 22:30 6:00 13:330 21:00 4:30

Fig. 11. Operational parameters condition during start-up.

condenser after more than 19 h sulfuric acid formation in the

second converter.

3.2. Solid elemental sulfur

One major mechanism for internal corrosion of a sulfur

condenser tube is attack of the steel by solid elemental sulfur that
builds up on the interior tube walls (Fig. 14). Solid sulfur can be
accumulated inside a condenser tube on the presence of a scale at
the internal surfaces of the tube. Scales could be form by refractory
damage due to heat shock. Water vapor enters the system with the
air purge, and fuel gas burning during shutdown and startup. Also,
in the defined case, water leakage due to previous corrosion in
condenser tube is main source of water. Water, as with the other
Fig. 12. The brief timeline of case. gaseous components in the condenser tube, can diffuse through the
solid sulfur and condense at the cooled steel surface, thus creating
the ideal conditions for ironesulfur corrosion. Once the ironesulfur

300
bedd1
bedd2
250
bedd3
Reaction Furnace T(c)

200

150

100

50

0
0:00 7:30 15
5:00 22:3
30 6:00 13:30 21:00 4:30

Fig. 13. Reactor temperature during start up.

114 A. Safadoost et al. / Journal of Natural Gas Science and Engineering 19 (2014) 105e115
Fig. 14. Corrosion by elemental sulfur.
Fig. 15. The important parameters that can cause corrosion (directlyeindirectly).
contact corrosion has commenced, the corrosion product, FeSx,
enhances the corrosion since it is able to conduct electrons be-
tween the iron and sulfur. Bad sweeping during shutdown, plugged
seal pot, accumulated sulfur in result of pervious and penetrated
water into tube side made suitable environment for corrosion and
corrosion extension especially in last condenser. The bad reactor
warm up was the other infraction during start up. According to a
sulfur experts recommendation and also unit licensor (LurgiÒ),
25
C per hour is suggested as a warming rate in the reactor. But
second converter was warmed by double speed.
4. Conclusion
Sources of corrosion and the exact start points of corrosion in
the sulfur plant are complex and sometimes unknown. But with
more consideration in operating time, and better shutdown,
maintenance, and startup procedure, we can reduce or stop
corrosion extension. As result of this study, below list is suggested
to find and prevent corrosion: (Fig. 15)
- Regularly check the seal pot to ensure sulfur production.
- Regularly check the level of water in the condenser. In the case
of fluctuation, check the pressure and outlet temperature to find
reasons of fluctuation.
- Doing heat soak according the plan.
- Regularly checking shell pressure and water level in condenser
during shut down.
- Regular checking sulfur production from the sulfur condenser to
find the exact end-time of sweeping stage
- Regular checking reactor temperature for each thermocouple
separately.
- Check condenser by opening manhole, and also check level drop
during holding time to ensure no leakage in condenser
- High attention to excess oxygen during start up especially when
the converter is cold enough for water condensation.
- Warming up with the recommended rate to prevent failure in
refractory and in result of them sulfurcrete formation in tube
and seal pot.
Sulfur seals, look boxes, and rundown lines can have impact on
the sulfur condensers. The ability to observe the sulfur production
from each condenser is a very valuable process evaluation and
troubleshooting tool. The sulfur rate, consistency of rate, color,
temperature, and presence of bubbles are all important information
items that can only be obtained from individual seals and look
boxes.
Acknowledgments
The authors are indebted to South Pars Gas Complex Co.
(SPGC), Bushehr, Iran for their technical assistance and support.
Nomenclature
Symbol
F Molar flow (kmol/h)
MW Molecular weight (g/mol)
Abbreviations
FG Fuel gas
 A. Safadoost et al. / Journal of Natural Gas Science and Engineering 19 (2014) 105e115 115

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