We are independent & ad-supported. We may earn a commission for purchases made through our links.
Advertiser Disclosure
Our website is an independent, advertising-supported platform. We provide our content free of charge to our readers, and to keep it that way, we rely on revenue generated through advertisements and affiliate partnerships. This means that when you click on certain links on our site and make a purchase, we may earn a commission. Learn more.
How We Make Money
We sustain our operations through affiliate commissions and advertising. If you click on an affiliate link and make a purchase, we may receive a commission from the merchant at no additional cost to you. We also display advertisements on our website, which help generate revenue to support our work and keep our content free for readers. Our editorial team operates independently of our advertising and affiliate partnerships to ensure that our content remains unbiased and focused on providing you with the best information and recommendations based on thorough research and honest evaluations. To remain transparent, we’ve provided a list of our current affiliate partners here.
Industry

Our Promise to you

Founded in 2002, our company has been a trusted resource for readers seeking informative and engaging content. Our dedication to quality remains unwavering—and will never change. We follow a strict editorial policy, ensuring that our content is authored by highly qualified professionals and edited by subject matter experts. This guarantees that everything we publish is objective, accurate, and trustworthy.

Over the years, we've refined our approach to cover a wide range of topics, providing readers with reliable and practical advice to enhance their knowledge and skills. That's why millions of readers turn to us each year. Join us in celebrating the joy of learning, guided by standards you can trust.

What Is the Claus Process?

Mary McMahon
By
Updated: May 17, 2024
Views: 7,005
Share

The Claus method is used by some companies to process hydrogen sulfide, a common component of crude oil and various refined products, to remove the sulfur. Sulfur is an undesirable component that must be removed before further processing and sale. Natural gas and other products with an unacceptably high sulfur component are known as “sour,” and the removal process is known as “sweetening.” Numerous refineries have the capability to subject products to the Claus method.

In this refinery technique, the sour gas is fed into a chamber where it can oxidize at very high temperatures before flowing into a cooler area, where a catalyst works to pull out more sulfur. The gas may go through three or more repeats of this process. At each stage, more and more sulfur is pulled out. A highly efficient refinery with three or four Claus process beds to treat sour gas can extract 97% or more of the sulfur.

Gas which has been mostly sweetened can pass through what is known as a tail gas unit to filter out additional sulfur. This results in gas with an extremely high quality at the end of the Claus process. It can be refined into various other components or sold as natural gas. Meanwhile, the extracted sulfur can also be used to produce an assortment of useful products. At refineries, the goal is to use as many components of crude oil as possible, to make processing cost effective.

Refineries can approach the Claus process in a number of ways. Some add features like pressurization to increase the extraction rate. Sweetening gas can be a lengthy process, and many firms use research and development to explore possible alternatives that may be more effective to implement. Refineries also need to consider environmental issues, as they do not want to cause pollution with the Claus process.

Workers supervise the Claus process and have access to equipment they can use to check on sulfur content and test for other impurities in the gas. The various impurities in crude explain the wide variety of ratings assigned to it upon extraction. More valuable crudes have fewer unwanted components, and may be known as light, sweet crudes to reflect this. Each added component requires additional processing and drives the value of the oil down because refineries need to spend more money to get usable gas and other products out of it. These heavier crudes may sell at much lower prices.

Share
WiseGeek is dedicated to providing accurate and trustworthy information. We carefully select reputable sources and employ a rigorous fact-checking process to maintain the highest standards. To learn more about our commitment to accuracy, read our editorial process.
Mary McMahon
By Mary McMahon

Ever since she began contributing to the site several years ago, Mary has embraced the exciting challenge of being a WiseGeek researcher and writer. Mary has a liberal arts degree from Goddard College and spends her free time reading, cooking, and exploring the great outdoors.

Editors' Picks

Discussion Comments
Mary McMahon
Mary McMahon

Ever since she began contributing to the site several years ago, Mary has embraced the exciting challenge of being a...

Learn more
Share
https://www.wisegeek.net/what-is-the-claus-process.htm
Copy this link
WiseGeek, in your inbox

Our latest articles, guides, and more, delivered daily.

WiseGeek, in your inbox

Our latest articles, guides, and more, delivered daily.