Sulfur Oxidation By Chemical Looping

Background

The conventional route to producing sulfuric acid is via the contact process. The first step in this process is sulfur combustion which yields 12% SO₂ in air, resulting in larger downstream reactors and more energy consumption than if a higher concentration SO₂ stream was used.

Technology

This novel process for producing pure SO2 using chemical looping can be used in place of sulfur combustion to simplify downstream conversion of SO₂ to sulfuric acid, resulting in an overall process that may be more energy efficient, produce less SO₂ emissions, and reduce CapEx for producing a new sulfuric acid plant. This technology was developed in the Charles Musgrave lab at CU Boulder.

Advantages

• Increased energy efficiency
• Reduced costs
• Reduced SO2 emissions

What's Next?

This technology is looking for exclusive and non-exclusive licensing opportunities.