OREANDA-NEWS. August 22, 2012. A momentous event took place at the TANECO Refining and Petrochemical Plants Complex - liquid sulfur was fed for granulation to the equipment of Sandvik of 10 tons per hour capacity, reported the press-centre of TATNEFT.

This was preceded by extensive work carried out jointly by TANEKO and start-up organizations. Comprehensive testing of the elemental sulfur granulating and packaging installation was started on August 15. The amount of 1519.9 tons of liquid sulfur had been already produced by this date, which was in the storage tank. The following equipment had been included for its processing: liquid sulfur circulating pumps, water supply unit for the granulator belt cooling, unit to supply adhesion reducing agent onto the granulator belt, preconditioning unit to cool the liquid sulfur prior to feeding into the granulator, liquid sulfur granulator, belt conveyor system, bucket lifting-gear, storage bin and machine for granulated sulfur packing in bags.

Start of granulated sulfur production marks the technological completeness of the whole production chain of Stage 1A1 and the beginning of the entire range of products of TANECO's first starting complex.

The amount of 15 tons of granulated sulfur was produced during the equipment adjustment.

Information reference:
Production of sulfur is an important process chain of the NPiNHZ Complex, which is designed to extract hydrogen sulfide from crude oil and refined products and to get granular elemental sulfur. The production equipment configuration includes the amine removal and regeneration installation, sour waste stripping, unit of liquid sulfur production, granulation and packaging unit, warehouse of elemental sulfur.

Granulated sulfur is used to produce sulfuric acid, fertilizers, black powder, carbon disulfide, coloring agents and luminous compositions, electrodes, in the rubber industry - for conversion of caoutchouc into rubber, in the paper industry - for cellulose production. In recent years the use of sulfur in the construction industry has found a wider application (sulfur foam, new asphalt covering, heavy-duty building blocks).