Topsoe’s SNOX technology will be installed at Orion’s carbon black plant in Louisiana
Orion Engineered Carbons S.A. (Luxembourg; www.orioncarbons.com) has signed a contract for Haldor Topsoe’s (Lyngby, Denmark; www.topsoe.com) sustainable fluegas cleaning technology, SNOX. The contract has a value of a three digit million DKK amount. The solution will remove SOx, NOx and dust particles from tail gases at Orion’s carbon black plant in Ivanhoe, Louisiana. It is the first time that SNOX is applied in the carbon black industry.
Since 2014, Orion has conducted in-depth analyses of the SNOX process, including investigative site visits to existing Topsoe plants and testing the concept at one of Orion’s manufacturing facilities. SNOX does not consume any reagents, apart from ammonia for the NOx reduction, and does not consume any water. Other factors that played a major role in their selection were the high energy efficiency and the very low emissions level that meets the stringent environmental regulations.
The agreement with Orion includes engineering, license, proprietary equipment, spare parts, catalyst, and future supervision tasks during commissioning and startup, as well as service obligations during commercial operation. The SNOX plant is scheduled to be in full commercial operation by April 2021.
The SNOX process removes sulfur dioxide (SOx), nitrogen oxides (NOx), and particulates from fluegases. The sulfur is recovered as sellable sulfuric acid and the nitrogen oxides are reduced to harmless free nitrogen. The process is based on catalytic reactions and does not consume water or absorbents.
The heat generated in the process can be reused to preheat air in Orion’s process which improves overall efficiency and economics considerably.