All Sulphur recovery units (SRUs) in the province of Alberta employ thermal incinerators to treat the tail gas effluent from the SRUs prior to emitting the waste gas to the atmosphere. The purpose of the thermal incinerator is to facilitate the oxidation of all he common reduced Sulphur compounds (H2S2, COS< CS2 and Sulphur vapour) to SO2 prior to release to the atmosphere.
Since 1980, many thermal incinerators in the province have conducted “incinerator optimization” studies in order to identify opportunities to reduce fuel has consumption by reducing the operating temperature of these systems while continuing to meet the environmental emission requirements of the plant. The “traditional” approach to these optimization studies was based primarily on a combined thermodynamic and kinetic incinerator model (INCWRD) which has been in use since ca. 1980.