H2S Oxidation System for Refinery Desulfurization

The European Union has recently promulgated new directives reducing the amount of residual sulfur in diesel and gasoline. These directives are requiring European refineries to revise both their fuel production processes and their downstream desulfurization strategies. One affected refinery is Irish Refining plc near Whitegate Middleton, Country Cork, Ireland which recently added a new atmospheric pipestill and expanded their existing gas oil hydrofiner. After the changes, the refinery could meet the new sulfur directives in the produced gasoline and diesel however, the off gas from the gas oil hydrofiner which is added to the refinery fuel gas, would contain too much H2S to continue to be burned as a fuel.