Sandvik Supplies a Sulfur Granulation and Handling Plant to a Greek Refinery

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IPCO Germany GmbH Niederlassung Fellbach

With indirect but highly efficient heat transfer, defined cooling times and controllable quality through accurate crystallization, the Rotoform system satisfies all these requirements. The consistent, hemispherical shape of the pastilles ensures excellent handling and storage characteristics.

In the case of Hellenic Petroleum, four Rotoform units — each with a capacity of approximately 3oo t/day — are being installed. Each can operate independently, and the ability to shut down and restart lines at short notice enables rapid adjustment for maximum flexibility. Additionally, the throughout of each unit can quickly be adjusted over the range 70–100 percent.

At the end of the cooler, a discharge knife removes the pastilles from the steel belt. They pass via chutes to an antistatic rubber belt conveyor which transports them out of the solidification building.

Heat is removed from the pastilles by cooling water sprayed against the underside of the steel belt. Since the water does not come into contact with the product, ordinary industrial cooling water is suitable, and there is no risk of contamination in either direction. The water can be recycled to a cooling tower with insignificant losses.

Within the plant, the low friability of the pastilles means that production is virtually dust-free. The fumes extracted from the Rotoform plant meet all existing legal limits for the emission of gases such as SO₂ and H₂S without the need for scrubbing or incineration.

Solid sulfur handling system

The storage and ship loading facilities at the Elefsis refinery are also designed for minimal environmental impact. Features include enclosed storage and conveying, dust suppression at loading points, and telescopic chutes to minimize dust during ship loading.

A belt conveyor with a capacity of 33.5 t/h carries the sulfur pastilles to a distribution system at an elevation of around 20 m. The distribution system is based on a tipper car which travels on rails, discharging sulfur pastilles onto a linear stockpile of up to 10,300 t, equivalent to a month’s production of sulfur. A “portal scraper” removes sulfur pastilles from one side of the stockpile and discharges them onto a conveyor belt running alongside. A 70 m transfer belt then feeds the two ship loaders at a rate of up to 250 t/h. A combination of telescoping, luffing, slewing and shuttling movements allows the ship loaders to reach all the hatches of the various vessels.

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