Patent Grant
11345594
The inventive concepts disclosed and claimed herein relate generally to processes for regeneration of sulfuric acid, and more particularly, to processes for regeneration of acid containing peroxy acids of sulfur.
Sulfuric acid (H2SO4) is used in a number of commercial chemical operations. For example, it is used in alkylation of hydrocarbons, in the preparation of methyl methacrylate, and in the cleaning of microelectronics such as silicon wafers. In these processes the sulfuric acid becomes diluted and/or contaminated (“spent”) so that it is no longer suitable for use and must be either neutralized for disposal or regenerated. Neutralization typically includes reaction with a base such as lime, limestone, or caustic followed by disposal of the resulting sulfate salt. Regeneration typically includes impurity removal and concentration of the sulfuric acid or decomposition of the acid to sulfur dioxide (SO2) which is subsequently used to make virgin acid.
In some applications, hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) has been used to scrub SO2 from gas streams. The hydrogen peroxide content of the resulting sulfuric acid (typically 30-70 wt % H2SO4) scrubbing solution can range up to 5 percent or higher, forming H2SO5 (sometimes referred to as Caro's acid). In other applications, concentrated sulfuric acid is mixed with hydrogen peroxide to provide a very powerful etching or cleaning agent. For example, Piranha solution is made by mixing concentrated sulfuric acid with hydrogen peroxide and is used for cleaning trace amounts of organic residues such as hardened photo resist from silicon wafers.
The presence of even small quantities of Caro's acid remaining in the spent acids makes chemical operators hesitant to use these spent acids for fear the H2SO5 may trigger unwanted and possibly uncontrollable side reactions. Thus, few alternatives to neutralization or standard acid regeneration exist for treating spent Piranha solutions and other spent acids containing H2SO5 and other peroxy acids of sulfur. Neutralization is expensive and merely leaves a less toxic waste. Standard acid regeneration involves decomposition of the spent acid, which requires significant energy, and it produces minimal but not negligible liquid waste and air emissions.
The presently disclosed inventive concepts relate an improvement in conventional methods for treating a spent oxidizing acid. In one embodiment, a spent acid containing peroxy acids of sulfur is contacted with a quantity of SO2 in excess of an equilibrium quantity required to convert the peroxy acids to sulfuric acid. The excess SO2 is catalytically converted to SO3, and the SO3 is absorbed into the sulfuric acid stream essentially free of H2SO5 and H2O2 to make product sulfuric acid.
In another embodiment, injecting a spent sulfuric acid solution containing at least one of H2SO5 and H2O2 is injected into a drying tower in a spent acid regeneration plant, thereby by-passing the decomposition step which is the standard injection point. A sulfuric acid stream is circulated into the drying tower, the circulating sulfuric acid stream having an SO2 concentration of 5% or greater. The SO2 gas in the circulating sulfuric acid stream is in excess of a stoichiometric quantity required to convert the H2SO5 and/or H2O2 to sulfuric acid.
The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated in and constitute a part of this specification, illustrate one or more implementations described herein and, together with the description, explain these implementations. The drawings are not intended to be drawn to scale, and certain features and certain views of the figures may be shown exaggerated, to scale or in schematic in the interest of clarity and conciseness. Not every component may be labeled in every drawing. Like reference numerals in the figures may represent and refer to the same or similar element or function. In the drawings:
Before explaining at least one embodiment of the presently disclosed inventive concept(s) in detail, it is to be understood that the presently disclosed inventive concept(s) is not limited in its application to the details of construction and the arrangement of the components or steps or methodologies set forth in the following description or illustrated in the drawings. The presently disclosed inventive concept(s) is capable of other embodiments or of being practiced or carried out in various ways. Also, it is to be understood that the phraseology and terminology employed herein is for the purpose of description and should not be regarded as limiting.
Unless otherwise defined herein, technical terms used in connection with the presently disclosed inventive concept(s) shall have the meanings that are commonly understood by those of ordinary skill in the art. Further, unless otherwise required by context, singular terms shall include pluralities and plural terms shall include the singular.
All of the articles and/or methods disclosed herein can be made and executed without undue experimentation in light of the present disclosure. While the articles and methods of the presently disclosed inventive concept(s) have been described in terms of preferred embodiments, it will be apparent to those of skill in the art that variations may be applied to the articles and/or methods and in the steps or in the sequence of steps of the method described herein without departing from the concept, spirit, and scope of the presently disclosed inventive concept(s). All such similar substitutes and modifications apparent to those skilled in the art are deemed to be within the spirit, scope, and concept of the presently disclosed inventive concept(s).
As utilized in accordance with the present disclosure, the following terms, unless otherwise indicated, shall be understood to have the following meanings:
The use of the word “a” or “an” when used in conjunction with the term “comprising” in the claims and/or the specification may mean “one”, but it is also consistent with the meaning of “one or more,” “at least one,” and “one or more than one.” The use of the term “or” in the claims is used to mean “and/or” unless explicitly indicated to refer to alternatives only or that the alternatives are mutually exclusive, although the disclosure supports a definition that refers to only alternatives and “and/or.” Throughout this application, the term “about” is used to indicate that a value includes the inherent variation of error for the device, the method being employed to determine the value, or the variation that exists among the study subjects. For example, but not by way of limitation, when the term “about” is utilized, the designated value may vary by plus or minus twelve percent, or eleven percent, or ten percent, or nine percent, or eight percent, or seven percent, or six percent, or five percent, or four percent, or three percent, or two percent, or one percent. The use of the term “at least one of X, Y, and Z” will be understood to include X alone, Y alone, and Z alone, as well as any combination of X, Y, and Z. The use of ordinal number terminology (i.e., “first,” “second,” “third,” “fourth,” etc.) is solely for the purpose of differentiating between two or more items and is not meant to imply any sequence or order or importance to one item over another or any order of addition, for example.
As used in this specification and claim(s), the words “comprising” (and any form of comprising, such as “comprise” and “comprises”), “having” (and any form of having, such as “have” and “has”), “including” (and any form of including, such as “includes” and “include”) or “containing” (and any form of containing, such as “contains” and “contain”) are inclusive or open-ended and do not exclude additional, unrecited elements or method steps.
The term “or combinations thereof” as used herein refers to all permutations and combinations of the listed items preceding the term. For example, “A, B, C, or combinations thereof” is intended to include at least one of: A, B, C, AB, AC, BC, or ABC, and if order is important in a particular context, also BA, CA, CB, CBA, BCA, ACB, BAC, or CAB. Continuing with this example, expressly included are combinations that contain repeats of one or more item or term, such as BB, AAA, AAB, BBC, AAABCCCC, CBBAAA, CABABB, and so forth. The skilled artisan will understand that typically there is no limit on the number of items or terms in any combination unless otherwise apparent from the context.
As used herein, the term “substantially” means that the subsequently described event or circumstance completely occurs or that the subsequently described event or circumstance occurs to a great extent or degree. For example, when associated with a particular event or circumstance, the term “substantially” means that the subsequently described event or circumstance occurs at least 80% of the time, or at least 85% of the time, or at least 90% of the time, or at least 95% of the time. The term “substantially adjacent” may mean that two items are 100% adjacent to one another, or that the two items are within close proximity to one another but not 100% adjacent to one another, or that a portion of one of the two items is not 100% adjacent to the other item but is within close proximity to the other item.
As used herein, the phrase “essentially free” means that the subsequently described composition is completely free of the referenced matter or that the subsequently described composition is free of the referenced matter to an extent that one skilled in the art would consider it to be functionally completely free of the referenced matter or that the subsequently described composition contains less than 0.1 wt % of the referenced matter.
The term “associate” as used herein will be understood to refer to the direct or indirect connection of two or more items.
The term “oxidizing acid” refers to any sulfuric acid solution containing H2SO5 or other peroxy acid(s) of sulfur.
The term “Caro's acid” as used herein refers to H2SO5.
The term “Piranha solution” refers to any sulfuric acid solution, usually concentrated, containing H2SO5, H2O2, other peroxy acid(s) of sulfur and used for cleaning components in the electronics industry.
The phrase “spent acid(s) containing Caro's acid” and “spent oxidizing acid(s)” are meant to include spent Piranha solution as well as spent gas-scrubbing and other solutions containing Caro's acid, hydrogen peroxide, and/or other peroxy acid(s) of sulfur.
Regarding applications using Piranha solution for cleaning silicon wafers and the like, the spent Piranha solution is diluted with water, but is otherwise relatively free of impurities. Thus, one might consider the acid to be relatively easily recycled for other uses. However, as discussed above, the presence of H2SO5 makes chemical operators hesitant to use spent Piranha solution for fear the remaining oxidant may trigger unwanted and possibly uncontrollable side reactions. Although Piranha solution has been used for electronic chip manufacture for many years, during that time the spent piranha acid has been disposed of most commonly via neutralization, the traditional sulfuric acid regeneration (SAR) process or, more rarely, in simple applications such as waste water pH control. Few alternatives to neutralization or standard regeneration exist for these waste acids.
It has been discovered that a spent oxidizing acid containing sulfuric acid and H2SO5 and/or H2O2 can be treated with SO2 to eliminate the H2SO5, for example, by reacting to form H2SO4 according to the reaction H2SO5+SO2→H2SO4. Referring now to
The spent oxidizing acid 12 can be any acid containing sulfuric acid and H2SO5, H2O2, or other peroxy acid(s) of sulfur. For example, Piranha solution is a mixture of sulfuric acid and hydrogen peroxide and is used to clean organic residues from substrates such as silicon chips and glassware. A typical mixture is three parts of concentrated sulfuric acid and one part of 30% hydrogen peroxide solution. Mixing the solution is quite exothermic. It should be used fresh as it generates gas and cannot be stored in a closed container. Since it reacts violently with any residues on the substrates, substrates are usually pre-cleaned prior to contact with the Piranha solution. After cleaning, the substrates are washed with purified water to remove adhering Piranha solution. Spent Piranha solution contains purified water used to wash the Piranha-cleaned substrate, but very low concentrations of other impurities. Because it reacts so violently with many materials commonly disposed of as chemical waste, it must be neutralized with care or recycled to a sulfuric acid regeneration operation.
Caro's acid, peroxymonosulfuric acid, is an equilibrium product of hydrogen peroxide and sulfuric acid and the major reactive component of the Piranha solution described above. Caro's acid has many uses other than Piranha solution. For example, it has been used in the mining and hydrometallurgical fields for destroying cyanide residuals. Spent solutions containing Caro's acid can have some of the same problematic issues as spent Piranha solution. Spent sulfuric acid solutions containing Caro's acid and having sulfuric acid concentrations of 30 wt % or more are suitable feeds for the presently disclosed and claimed inventive methods and processes. In some embodiments, spent solutions containing Caro's acid and having sulfuric acid concentrations of 50 wt % or more are treated by the presently disclosed and claimed inventive methods and process.
Other feed sources can be spent scrubbing solutions wherein hydrogen peroxide or other peroxy acids of sulfur are used to scrub sulfur dioxide from waste gases. The reaction between sulfur dioxide and hydrogen peroxide or Caro's acid, has long been known and has been the basis of scrubbing technologies to remove sulfur dioxide from sulfuric acid plant stack gas for many decades. Peroxide scrubbing to remove sulfur dioxide is currently being used at several US locations. The goal of these processes, however, has always been to destroy the sulfur dioxide, not the peroxide, Caro's acid or other peroxy acids of sulfur. In these instances, the liquid phase contains low levels of peroxide and typically 40-50 wt % sulfuric acid. This acid concentration is chosen for two reasons: (1) the solubility of sulfur dioxide in 40-50% acid and lower sulfuric acid concentrations is greater than in concentrated acid; and (2) the reaction rate of sulfur dioxide with peroxide or Caro's acid is faster in this strength range than it is in concentrated acid.
For example, U.S. Pat. No. 3,760,061 (High-Strength Acid Containing H2O2 to Scrub SO2) discloses the need to modify the scrubber design to make the sulfuric acid containing hydrogen peroxide or other peroxy acids of sulfur the continuous phase and the gas phase contains 500-5000 ppm or higher sulfur dioxide. It is stated therein, “At sulfuric acid concentrations above about 80 percent in the aqueous scrubbing medium, the low reaction rate of SO2 with hydrogen peroxide or peroxy acids of sulfur makes the use of conventional gas-liquid contacting equipment, wherein the gas phase is continuous, impractical for significant removal of SO2 from gaseous streams.” The reason given is that “in the more concentrated solutions, the aqueous scrubbing medium more quickly becomes saturated with SO2 because of the slower reaction rate of dissolved SO2 with hydrogen peroxide and peroxy acids of sulfur present in the aqueous scrubbing medium.” However, the present inventive methods and processes use the converse reaction, removal of Caro's acid, hydrogen peroxide and other peroxy acids of sulfur from even very concentrated sulfuric acid using conventional gas-liquid contacting equipment wherein the gas phase is continuous.
Regarding the reactant SO2, example sources of the SO2 gas 18 include smelters, roasting of sulfide ores and concentrates, sulfur oxidation, H2S oxidation, and decomposition of sulfuric acid. Generally, SO2 concentrations of 5-14 vol % are sufficient to convert Caro's acid and hydrogen peroxide using conventional contacting equipment and sulfuric acid concentrations above 80 wt %. However, SO2 concentrations greater than 14 vol % are also suitable and SO2 concentrations greater than 50 vol % can be present in the gas of some flash smelting processes with oxygen enrichment.
In one embodiment described in a later section of this disclosure, the reactant SO2 gas 16 is provided by a spent acid decomposition furnace in a pre-existing spent acid regeneration plant.
The contacting tower 14 provides gas/liquid contact such that SO2 gas contacts the spent oxidizing acid 12 to convert H2SO5 to H2SO4. (H2SO5+SO2+H2O→2H2SO4.) Typically, the reactant SO2 gas 16 has a concentration of about 5 vol % SO2 or higher, or about 5 vol % to about 14 vol % SO2, or about 8 vol % to about 14 vol % SO2. In some cases, the reactant SO2 gas 16 has a concentration of about 14 vol % to about 50 vol % or more SO2. For example, the reactant SO2 gas 16 can have a concentration of about 30 vol % to about 60 vol %. Concentrated recycle H2SO4 typically has a strength of about 90 wt % or higher.
Suitable contacting tower designs are well known to those skilled in the art. The contactor design can be a differential gas-liquid contactor wherein mass transfer happens within the entire length of the contactor. Suitable examples of differential contactors include, but are not limited to: falling-film columns, packed columns, bubble columns, spray towers, and the like. Stagewise gas-liquid contactors can also be used, examples including but not limited to plate columns, rotating disc contactors, and the like.
The excess SO2 stream 18 is of sufficient volume and strength (concentration) to ensure complete conversion of the H2SO5. Typically, the excess SO2 stream 18 has a concentration in excess of about 8 vol % SO2. In some embodiments, the excess SO2 stream 18 has a concentration of about 8 vol % to about 14 vol % SO2, or about 9 vol % to about 12 vol % SO2.
Catalytic oxidation of SO2 to SO3 is well known to those skilled in the art. A catalyst, typically a vanadium-based catalyst, catalyzes SO2 oxidation at temperatures in a range of 400° to 600° C. The oxidation can be carried out in, for example, a sequence of three to five catalyst beds with gas cooling between beds.
The SO3 stream 22 exiting the catalytic oxidation step 20 is fed to an absorption step or absorption tower 24 wherein the SO3 is taken up by the water in the acid stream 26 and any additional needed water according to the reaction: SO3+H2O→H2SO4. Acid stream 26 and any necessary additional water can be added to a circulating stream in the absorption step or absorption tower 24. In some embodiments, the SO3 is of sufficient quantity to increase the concentration of acid stream 26 to 90 wt % H2SO4 or higher. Types and designs of suitable absorption towers are well known by those skilled in the art. For example, a packed tower design can be used for absorption tower 24. The product sulfuric acid 28 can be made to have a concentration anywhere between that of the oxidizing acid 12 up to over 99 wt % H2SO4. In one embodiment, sufficient SO2 is added to make product sulfuric acid 28 in a range of about 94% to over 99 wt % H2SO4.
In one embodiment, a portion of the acid stream 26 is air stripped to remove SO2, and is used as product sulfuric acid.
The environmental and economic advantages of the presently disclosed inventive methods and processes should be obvious. Spent oxidizing acids are traditionally treated in conventional spent acid regeneration (SAR) plants. A traditional prior art spent acid regeneration plant 30 is outlined in
The sulfur dioxide (SO2) process gas 42 leaving the thermal decomposition section 32 is treated in the gas cleaning and drying section 34 to remove dust and ashes and to reduce the water vapor content to allow production of the desired acid strength. The sulfur trioxide leaving the thermal decomposition section 32 is converted to sulfuric acid during gas cleaning and leaves the process as a weak (˜5%) acid stream 44 which must be neutralized with caustic or other suitable base. This represents a yield loss and results in a waste effluent stream that must be disposed of. While most of the total sulfur is recovered, the waste stream 44 represents about 0.5% to 3% of the sulfur dioxide. The cleaned SO2 gas is dried by contacting with a concentrated recycle acid stream 46 containing 93 to over 99 wt % H2SO4. Drying is accomplished in a packed bed acid tower or drying tower to produce a dried clean sulfur dioxide process gas 48.
Dried clean sulfur dioxide process gas 48 is oxidized to sulfur trioxide (SO3) stream 50 in the conversion section 36 utilizing a vanadium catalyst in a staged converter vessel. In the absorption section 38, sulfur trioxide stream 50 from the converter vessel is subsequently absorbed in concentrated sulfuric acid and reacted with water to produce additional “virgin” sulfuric acid product 52. Due to equilibrium considerations, it is impossible to convert all of the sulfur dioxide to sulfur trioxide. Unconverted sulfur dioxide leaves the conventional SAR plant as an air emission 54. Existing SAR plants, using the modern dual absorption process and the best available catalysts, can achieve overall conversion of sulfur dioxide to sulfur trioxide in the range of 99.7% or better. This amounts to a sulfur dioxide emission rate of up to 4 lbs sulfur dioxide per ton of 100% acid produced.
It has been discovered that spent oxidizing acid can be introduced directly to the drying step in a spent acid regeneration plant, thereby by-passing the decomposition step of the spent acid regeneration plant, saving significant energy and reducing emissions. For example, spent oxidizing acid such as spent Piranha solution from electronic chip manufacture or any sulfuric acid stream which contains hydrogen peroxide, Caro's acid, other peroxy acids of sulfur or mixture thereof, can be fed directly to a drying tower in a spent acid regeneration plant, thereby by-passing the decomposition step. The high concentration of dissolved sulfur dioxide in the drying tower circulating acid reacts with any hydrogen peroxide, Caro's acid and other peroxy acids of sulfur to produce sulfuric acid. The peroxide-free acid can then blend with stronger acid in the drying tower and/or SO3 absorption towers to make additional peroxide-free high-quality sulfuric acid. Unlike currently available methods for regenerating spent oxidizing acids, this invention consumes no significant energy and produces no significant waste streams.
As explained previously, when spent oxidizing acid is fed to the thermal decomposition step as conventionally practiced, the spent oxidizing acid is thermally decomposed to sulfur dioxide. This requires high heat (>1000° C.) and thus requires considerable fuel in the form of natural gas or other fuel. In the proposed inventive methods and processes, the acid is not decomposed and thus, requires no fuel.
Further, since thermal decomposition equilibrium limits the amount of sulfur dioxide that can be produced to about 98.5% of the total sulfur present in the acid, the remaining 1.5% of the sulfur exits the decomposition furnace as sulfur trioxide which leaves the SAR process as a weak (˜5%) acid stream which must be neutralized with caustic or another suitable base. This represents a yield loss and results in a waste effluent stream that must be disposed of. However, in the presently disclosed inventive methods and processes, the spent Piranha solution or another oxidizing acid bypasses the decomposition step, producing no sulfur trioxide requiring neutralization.
Further yet, in the SAR process the recovered sulfur dioxide produced in the decomposition furnace must be catalytically oxidized to sulfur trioxide. Unconverted sulfur dioxide leaves the SAR plant as an air emission. In the presently disclosed inventive methods and processes, the oxidizing acid or Piranha solution is not decomposed to sulfur dioxide; therefore, the catalytic oxidation step is completely bypassed as well. Hence, sulfur dioxide emissions are completely avoided.
Examples are provided herein below. However, the present invention is to be understood to not be limited in its application to the specific process, chemicals, equipment and results. Rather, the Example is simply provided as one of various embodiments and is meant to be exemplary, not exhaustive
A prophetic example feeds a spent Piranha solution containing 2 wt % hydrogen peroxide and 80 wt % sulfuric acid directly to an upper portion of the drying tower of an SAR plant shown in detail in
The spent Piranha contains impurities at the ppb level; thus, no impurities need be removed in the gas cleaning section of the SAR plant. Hydrogen peroxide and Caro's acid present in the spent Piranha solution are chemically destroyed to form sulfuric acid according to the following reactions:
H2O2+SO2→H2SO4
H2SO5+SO2+H2O→2H2SO4
Treatment of the spent Piranha solution produces no waste, as the sulfuric acid produced by the above reactions becomes part of the plant's product.
In this example, 5 gpm of a spent piranha acid at 80% total acidity is added to an existing spent acid recovery plant. Conventionally, this acid is included as spent acid feed to the decomposition furnace and the changes to conventional production are shown in Table 1 below. Also shown are the changes when 5 gpm of the piranha acid were added to the drying tower as shown in
Feeding the acid to the decomposition furnace requires natural gas (or other fuel) to provide the heat to decompose the acid. Conversion of the acid to SO2 is only about 98.5%. The unconverted acid is scrubbed from the gas stream and neutralized to produce an aqueous sulfate waste that is discharged as a liquid effluent. Conversion of the resulting SO2 to SO3 is very high, but not 100%. In the present plant, SO2 emissions are about 0.8 lb SO2/ton of acid. In older existing plants, the emissions can be as high as 4 lb SO2/ton acid. Finally, converting SO3 to product acid requires process water. There is actually an excess of water in the piranha acid which reduces the total water requirement of the SAR plant.
In this example, 5 gpm of a spent piranha acid at 90% total acidity is added to an existing spent acid recovery plant. As explained in Example 2, conventionally, this acid is included as spent acid feed to the decomposition furnace and the changes to conventional production are shown in Table 2 below. Also shown are the changes when 5 gpm of the piranha acid were added to the drying tower as shown in
Although the presently disclosed inventive concept(s) has been described in conjunction with the specific language set forth herein above, it is evident that many alternatives, modifications, and variations will be apparent to those skilled in the art. Accordingly, it is intended to embrace all such alternatives, modifications, and variations that fall within the spirit and broad scope of the presently disclosed inventive concept(s). Changes may be made in the construction and the operation of the various components, elements, and assemblies described herein, as well as in the steps or the sequence of steps of the methods described herein, without departing from the spirit and scope of the presently disclosed inventive concept(s).
This application claims benefit under 35 USC § 119(e) of provisional application U.S. Ser. No. 62/947,863 filed Dec. 13, 2019, the entire content of which is expressly incorporated herein by reference.
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| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 20210179426 A1 | Jun 2021 | US |
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 62947863 | Dec 2019 | US |
