Patent ID: 7918994
Filing Date: 2011-04-05
Classification: C01B

Abstract:
1. A sulfur refining system comprising in combination: at least one sulfur feed bin; said sulfur feed bin comprises a discharge chute; a feed conveyor driven by a conveyor motor; said feed conveyor lies beneath said discharge chute; a first melting and settling tank that comprises a melting and a settling compartment, and a pump compartment, said first tank coupled downstream to said discharge chute; a second melting and settling tank that comprises a settling compartment and a pump compartment, said second tank coupled downstream to said first tank; a sludge extraction conveyor driven by an extraction conveyor motor coupled to said first tank; a molten sulfur pump that provides pressure that pumps molten sulfur through said sulfur refining system; a molten sulfur heat exchanger comprising a shell and a heating coil within said shell coupled downstream to said first tank; molten sulfur filters coupled downstream to said second tank; sulfur pipelines coupled to said first tank and said second tank; condensation pipelines coupled downstream to said heat exchanger; said sulfur pipelines and condensation pipelines comprise valves; temperature monitoring instruments coupled to said sulfur pipelines; sulfur level monitoring instruments coupled to said first tank and said second tank; a programmable system controller coupled to said temperature monitoring instruments, said conveyor motor and said sulfur pump; said programmable system controller controls said feed conveyor by operating said conveyor motor; said programmable system controller receives data from said temperature and sulfur level monitoring instruments; at least one of said temperature monitoring instruments in said sulfur pipelines communicates temperature data of molten sulfur in said sulfur pipeline to said system controller, where said system controller uses said temperature data to control pressure and flow of steam to said heat exchanger to control temperature of sulfur delivered to said first melting and settling tank; at least one of said temperature monitoring instruments in said first melting and settling tank communicates temperature data of molten sulfur in said first melting and settling tank to said system controller, where said system controller uses said temperature data to control the speed in which said conveyor transfers sulfur to said first melting and settling tank; and at least one of said level monitoring instruments in said first melting and settling tank communicates level data of molten sulfur in said first melting and settling tank to said system controller, where said system controller uses said level data to control the speed in which said sulfur pump pumps sulfur to said downstream molten sulfur filters.