Scrubber Design For Phosphoric Acid Production Facility
Scrubber Design For Phosphoric Acid Production Facility
STARS
Spring 1979
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Mayer, Edward E., "Scrubber Design for Phosphoric Acid Production Facility" (1979). Retrospective Theses
and Dissertations. 435.
https://stars.library.ucf.edu/rtd/435
SCRUBBER DESIGN FOR
PHOSPHORIC ACID PRODUCTION FACILITY
BY
EDWARD E. NAYER
B.S., Florida Technological University~ 1974
RESEARCH REPORT
Submitted in partial fulfillment of the requireMents
for the degree of Master of Science
in the Graduate Studies Program of the College of Engineering
of University of Central Florida at Orlando, Florida
Spring Quarter
1979
ABSTRACT
iii
TABLE OF CONTENTS
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS . v
INTRODUCTION . . . . . . ... . . . 1
Chapter
I. AIR POLLUTION IN THE PHOSPHATE INDUSTRY. 2
Phosphate Industry in Florida. 2
Fluoride Contaminates . . . 3
Rules and Regulations . . . . . . . 4
II. DESIGN OF WET SCRUBBERS. 7
Basic Concepts of Mass Transfer. 7
Theoretical Design of a Packed
Absorption Tower . . . . . . . . . . . 10
Practical Considerations for Fluoride
Wet Scrubbers . . . . . . . . . . .. . . 18
III. DESIGN OF A PHOSPHORIC ACID PLANT
FLUORIDE CONTROL SYSTEM. . . . . . . 24
SUMMARY . .... . . . . . 49
iv
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS
Figure
1. Gas to Liquid Transfer Phenomenon 8
2. The Two-Film Theory of Interphase Diffusion .. 9
v
INTRODUCTION
ation will consist of removing the rock from the ground and prepa-
ration for chemical processing. The preparation usually includes
washing, sizing, drying and benefication.
The chemical processing complexes convert the phosphate
rock into a form usable to plant life. The operation will usually
consist of facilities to produce sulfuric acid, phosphoric acid,
ammonium phosphates, and granular triple superphosphate. It is in
the manufacturing of phosphates that fluoride is released as a
pollutant.
Fluoride Contaminates
Phosphate rock in Florida has the approximate chemical
formulation 3Ca 3(P0 4) 2 • CaF .3 This is a complex of tricalcium
2
phosphate and calcium fluoride. The tricalcium phosphate is only
slightly soluble and when combined with calcium fluoride is nearly
insoluble in water. The compound has about 3.5 to 4.0 percent by
weight of fluoride. Removal of fluorine is necessary in order to
provide a non-toxic phosphate product.
The gaseous formation of fluorides, HF and SiF 4 , is pro-
duced when heat or acid is applied to phosphate rock. Particulates
of rock dust may also contain up to 4 percent fluoride. The
particulates will be released in processing facilities such as
drying, grinding, and material handling.
Fluoride is a cumulative poison and the degree of its
toxicity is a function of both ingestion level and length of ex-
posure. Fluoride ingestion causes a disturbed calcification of
4
growing teeth. Fluorides are also a protoplasmic poison.
Over the years there have been an increasing number of
reports of injury to livestock and vegetation due to atmospheric
pollution by fluorides. The importance of fluoride as an atmos-
pheric pollutant was emphasized by a number of investigators at the
U.S. Technical Conference on Air Pollution in 1950.4
When present in sufficient concentrations, fluorides in
gaseous form are highly toxic to growing vegetation, humans, and
animals. The President•s Science Advisory Committee 5 in its report
to the President ranked investigations into the systemic effects on
humans, animals, plants, and materials in the highest priority
category along with sulfur dioxide, carbon monoxide, and carbon
dioxide. The minutes of the Florida Air Pollution Control Commis-
sion6 have innumerable pages of testimony regarding the damages to
vegetation, animals, and humans caused by fluoride emissions from
the phosphate industry.
TABLE 1
FLUORIDE EMISSION FACTORS
Source NSPS Emission
Wet Process Phosphoric Acid . . 0.02 lb F/ton P205
Granular Triple Superphosphate . . . 0.15 lb F/ton P2o5
(GTSP)
Diamrnonium Phosphate . . . . . .
(DAP)
Granular Triple Superphosphate
Storage Facilities . . . . . . . 5.0 x 10- 4 lb F/hr/ton stored
0 0 0 f)f) 0 ¢
0
_,/., 0 ~ I)
~
/'
0¢
0
~
/"' 9) 0~9)
0 .,/' (to 0 ¢ tJ
0
~
~ t1 otlO
~ 00 0
0 ,¢,
~
0 ¢ g8
0 CARRIER GAS f/1 SOLUTE 0 LIQUID
INTERFACE
+
GAS PHASE LIQUID PHASE
g ___....... Z1
t1Pa
~Ca
Pa*
DISTANCE, Z
Solvent Selection
The first design consideration is the determination of the
scrubbing liquid. The type of solvent depends primarily on the
pollutant gas. Water is the most common and usually the least
expensive. Some acid gases may require a base liquid such as
limewater or some base gases may require an acid wash such as
12
weak phosphoric acid.
Mass transfer involves the transfer of pollutant gas to a
liquid. This contaminated liquid must be disposed of, and there-
fore, may present the controlling factor in solvent selection.
Mass Balance
Figure 3 is a general schematic of an absorption tower
indicating the gas and liquid flow. The input value of the pol-
lutant gas, v1 , is combined with the total gas flow, G, to produce
inlet concentration. The output pollutant, Y2 , mixed with the air
flow produces the tower exit concentrations. The liquid input sol-
vent flow will contain pollutant amount, x1. The liquid will ab-
sorb the pollutant species and exit the tower as x2.
4~
G1' Y1
OPERATING LINE
SOLUTE (F)
CONCENTRATION
IN GAS
Yz EQUILIBRIUM CURVE
Xz
SOLUTE (F) CONCENTRATION IN LIQUID
Fig. 4. Typical Equilibrium Curve and Operating line
Source: Kenneth Wark and Cecil F. Warner, Air
Pollution, Its Origin and Control (New York: Harper---
and Row, 1976), p. 268.
15
equilibrium curve. The slope of this line may be determined by the
following equation:lO
Lm ~Y
"Gm=!;:[
If the slope of the operating line is known by the inlet-
outlet concentrations with a minimum operation assumed, then the
liquid flow rate can be estimated.
A transfer unit is a measure of the difference 1f the mass
transfer operation, and is a function of the solute gas in the gas
and liquid streams.
A number of transfer units needed in a system may be deter-
mined graphically or mathematically. The graphical method entails
drawing horizontal and vertical lines step wise between the oper-
11 11
and
L'
Hl = ~(----)n (Sc)0.5
~L
where
a, s, y, ~' and n are packing constant found in most
17
0.4
PRESSURE DROP-
INCHES H20/FT
....__
r---........
1.5 I~ ~ .............
FLC OD NG LINE
c?l .....J
a.
f:::::: ~~
... - ~
N
. V,...;
. ............._ '~
0
- ~
- "' ~~
.....J .....J
:J. a.
(..!)
a.
~
u.. u
--
C)
N 0.1 ~
- ~
"""' '\
" '""' '\ ~
(.!3
;\~
.002
0.01
"\ \ I'\.
\
10
L 0. 5
G (p /P )
G L
- 45°C
10
- 0')
:I:
9
~- 8
-
L\J
C..'
........
a::
7
0
:::>
_J
u.
c( 6
,.....
0:::
UJ
1-
z 5
0
u
........
_J
........
V)
4
u.
0
UJ
ex: 3
:::>
V)
V)
UJ
0:::
a_ 2
_J
c:x:
.........
1--
0:::
ex: 1
a_
0 10 20 30 40
% FLUOSILICIC ACID
Fig. 7. Equilibrium Curve for High Concentration of F
Source: A.L. Whynes, "Some Aspects of the Absorption
of Silicon Tetrafluoride Gas in Water," Trans. Instn. Chern.
Engr. 34 (1956): 118.
POND
WATER
FUMES
+ SPRAY
CHAMBER
~
CLEAN AIR
~ COOLING
SPRAYS
N
N
23
GTSP storage, and animal feed ingredients plant exhaust gases.
Tail-gas scrubbers in the phosphate industry are generally
designed to remove fluorine, traces of ammonia, particulate mist,
and water vapor. Non-dusty air enters the scrubber at one end and
discharges at the other end. The air is contacted stage-wise with
acidic pond water from the plant•s contaminated water pond. A
series of sprays is used to cool the fumes, condense the wat~r
vapor and begin the scrubbing operation. The final scrubbing takes
place in the packed section with pond water entering at the top and
on the face. The air leaving the wet packed section is generally
90°- 120° F, saturated. A final demisting pad or packed section
is used to reduce pond water mist entrainment to the atmosphere.
A variation of this design, used on phos acid plant scrubbers, is
to vent low fluorine gases into the scrubber after the spray
section.
Cross-flow scrubbers are generally used where gas absorption
is combined with particulate removal. In cross-flow scrubbers, the
liquid flows vertically down while the gas passes horizontally
through the irrigated packed bed. These scrubbers offer reduced
pressure drops and use lower pump recycle flows than the typical
packed tower under the same inlet conditions.l8
III. DESIGN OF A PHOSPHORIC ACID PLANT
FLUORIDE CONTROL SYSTEM
,-- ~
I l SCRUBBER
PHOSPHATE I
ROCK SEAL TANKS
SULFURIC
ACID
j
HOTWELL
EVAPORATOR
REACTOR
F1g. 9. Wet Process Phosphoric Acid Production
~{)~ft~: A~r1&o Ch~m1ca1 Co., "Process Manual." Bartow, Florida. 1969.
26
H2so 4 + Ca 10 (P0 4)6F2caco 3 + Si0 2 + M20 + FeP0 4 + AlP0 4 + H2o =
Sulfuric
Acid Phosphate Rock
lizing solution.
The operation to remove the gypsum crystals is carried out
on a series of filter surfaces. Belt or rotary type horizontal
tilting pan filters are superior to other types and are widely used
in almost all new plants.20
The fliter is a continuous circulation unit, horizontally
27
circling in a counter-clockwise direction. There are usually 24
pans that provide different filtering functions. Dewatering of the
filter cake and washing out the phosphoric acid-rich liquor is the
function of the filter. See Figure 10.
The gypsum is removed and stored on a pile. The weak acid
which is about 30% P2o5 is concentrated to about 54% P2o5. Multi-
stage vacuum evaporators are used for this concentrating.
Design Procedure
The typical pollution control device for a phosphoric acid
ACID WASH
NO. 2 FILTRATE
CELL DRYING
NO.
w
0
31
of the filter. Industrial Ventilation21 gives the following
relationships to determine flow for a canopy hood:
Q = (W + L)HV
where
Q = flow~ CFM
Wand L = sides, ft
H = height of hood above surface, ft
V = velocity, FPM
When a velocity of 200 FPM is assumed and the length of 2
trays is 28 feet, the width of a tray is 8 feet and the height is
4 feet, the flow will be 28,000 ACFM. This design should be for
30,000. Figure 12 indicates the approximate design of the hood.
The ductwork from the filter will have a flow of 30,000
ACFM. A duct diameter of 48 inches will be assumed. This will
produce a velocity of 2,388 FPM.
The reactor vessel will be fully enclosed. Assorted open-
ings in the top of the vessel will allow fumes to escape, there-
fore, it should be vented. The evolution of carbonate and fluoride
within the reactor could be predicted using chemical equilibrium
data. A survey of actual installations indicate that volumes of
1
LU
0
.......
-co
(/)
s...
Cl)
+J
~ ~~ r--
...-
tJ....
s...
0
Cf-
"0
0
0
:I:
»
~
0
s::
co
u
I-
c:::
lLJ N
.
z t- co t-f
0
a:
LL-
--l
.....
u_
N
C')
.
......
u..
33
Material Balance
Figure 13 is a diagram of the proposed scrubber indicating
the various known and unknown inputs into the system. The input
concentrations are typical of those found in the industry.
The first step in establishing a material balance will be
to convert all flows into molar concentrations. (Assume molecular
weight of F- to be 19 with a density of 0.062 lb ).
ft3
1. Reactor flow= 17,675 ACFM@ 180° F
17,675 ft3 x 60 minx 0.062 lb = 65,751 lb x 1 = 2,267 lb moles
m 1 hr w nr "29 hr
Input pollutant = 120 lb moles F- x 1 = 6.32 lb moles F-
hr 19 hr
2. Filter flow= 30,000 ACFM@ goo F (with density of 0.072 lb )
ft3
30,000 ft3 x 60 min x 0.072 lb = 129,600 lb x 1 = 4,470 lb moles
ii1Til 1 hr ff3 nr rg- hr
Input pollutant = 30 lb F- x 1 = 1.57 lb moles F-
nr I9 fir
3. Determine input pollutant concentrations
Reactor= 6.32 lb moles x 1 = 2.78 x lo- 3 molesF-
hr-F- 2,267 lb moles moles air
hr-ai r
34
TABLE 2
PRESSURE DROPS IN FILTER DUCT
D' D
E
8
H G F A
H' Q = 30,000 CFM
----------------------~ F'
Point Restriction Loss, Inches
of Water
A- B 10' L .01
8' 90 EL .10
C- D 15' L .01
D' 90 EL . 10
E- F 15' L . 01
F' 90 EL .10
G- H 60' L .06
H' 90 EL .10
AIR + F-
w
01
36
Fi 1ter = 1. 57 1b mo 1es x .,........,I"W"Z"._...lrT-_~ == 3. 51 x lo-4 rna 1es r
hr-F- 4,470 16 moles moles air
hr-ai r
4. Determine output pollutant concentration. Assume the plant
produces 26 tons of P2o5 per hour using the E.P.A. restriction of
o.o2 lb r
tons P2o5
0.02 lb F- x 26 tons x1 = 0.027 lb moles
tons P2o5 hr P2o5 ~ hr-F-
Output Data
1) Temperature of outlet pond water - 115° F
1~------~~--~--~~~~~~~~--------~--------~
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 20 40
LIQUID/GAS RATIO - GPM/M STD CFM
Fig. 14. Effect of Liquid/Gas Ratio on NTU for Spray Chamber Using Gypsum Pond Water
Source: John M. Craig, "Fluoride Removal from Wet Process Phosphoric Acid
Reactor Gases ... {Ph.D dissertation, University of Florida, 1970), p. 138.
40
the chamber will change.
~ = .04
where
Lm = liquid flow rate
Gm = gas flow rate (6,717 lb males air )
hr
therefore
42
6,717 lb moles air x .04 = 269 lb moles liquid
hr hr
269 lb moles x 19 = 5,111 lb = 85 lb = approximately 10 ~
hr nr m mln
This figure of 10 GPM represents the theoretical amount of
water needed to perform the necessary mass transfer. The actual
amount of water needed should be a much greater volume due to
severa 1 factors:
1. The method assumes perfect mass transfer. The reaction of H2o
and SiF 4 will result in a silica shell forming on the water film.
This will impede the diffusion process.
2. The formation of silica in the packed section requires water
flushing for removal. Low volumes of water would result in the
plugging of the packing with solids.
3. The lower the amount of water used, the smaller the area of
the packing. A relatively small packed section coupled with high
volumes of gas would produce high velocities. This would result
in low water-gas contact time. Also, the high velocity would
strip water droplets off the packing, resulting in a demisting
problem.
A survey of several companies utilizing the cross-flow
packed section indicates an approximate water to gas flow ratio
of 15 to 20 GPM per 1000 ACFM.23 Assuming a ratio of 17.5, the
resulting amount of water usage for 40,000 ACFM would be 700 GPM.
High amounts of water usage is not a problem due to the fact that
water is recycled. In the Florida Phosphate Industry the only
43
cost due to water use is that of pumping.
Area of Packing
The area of the packing is based on the flooding correla-
tion in Figure 5. The relationship of the gas flow rate, G,
divided by the superficial gas flow rate, G', will produce the area.
1. Determine the density of liquid and gas. Assume the density of
the pend water to be that of pure water (62.4 lb/ft3).
For the gas:
PM
PG = lfr
p = 14.7 lb
1ri2
R = 10.73 rsia - ft3
b mole oR
T= 90 + 460 = 550°R
M= 29.0 (Assume molar mass of air)
PG = 14.7~29.0) = .070 lb/ft3
10.7 (570)
2. Determine the ordinate for flooding.
352,800 lb .07 lb Q.5
L PL 0.5
- (-)
lir m .063
G PG = 188,181 lb (62.4 t6i =
nr ft3
G' = .659 lb
.....2
-s--f~t
Cl = 5.0
8 = .30
y = .50
45
G = 1,426 1b/hr-ft2
1
L1 = 2,673 lb/hr-ft2
Sc = 1.24 (for SiF4)
5.0 (1,426)-30
HTG = (1.24)0.5
(2,673)·5
HTG = 1.1
2. Evaluate the height of a transfer unit in terms of liquid phase.
HrL may be considered to be zero due to the fact that the
absorption of gaseous fluorides has been shown by Whynes24 to be
gas film controlling. The rate of absorption is controlled by the
rate at which the gaseous fluorides reach the liquid-gas interface.
3. · Detenni ne the height of the packing.
mGm
HoG = HTG + ( ) HTL
Lm
HoG= 1.1 + 0
HoG= 1.1
Z = HoG + NTU
Z = 1.1 X6
z= 6.6 ft
Design for 6 feet which is a common width of packing used in actual
phos acid scrubbers.
Pressure Drop
The pressure drop can be calculated by utilizing the
following equation:
46
~P- ( -8) (lonLI)'GI'2
! - m 10 - ~
PL PG
m = 5.66 for 1~ intalox saddles
11
Design Details
The action of gas passing through a wet packed section will
result in the formation of water droplets. A mist eliminator will
be needed to stop the particles from entering the fan and exiting
the stack. The screen should be capable of removing droplet sizes
greater than 0.5 microns. Several manufacturers produce units
that can remove mist droplets of that size. The pressure drop
should not be greater than 0.5 inches of water for the unit.
The fan selection for the scrubbing unit will consist of a
47
centrifugal fan that will be required to produce a flow of
48,000 ACFM with a static pressure drop of 5 inches of water.
The materials of scrubber shell construction can be either
rubber-lined steel. FRP, or stainless steel. The most economical
at the present time is rubber-lined steel. All internal piping
and packing support grids should be made of stainless steel.
The length of the scrubber will be 31 feet. The scrubber
will be 3 feet high by 17 feet wide. The packing will have 6 inch
wide supports all around.
Figure 15 indicates the approximate layout of the scrubber.
Four rows of sprays will be used for the spray chamber. Each row
will have 36 sprays for a total of 144.
The packing will have 4 rows of sprays with 6 sprays for
sprays.
The typical phos acid scrubber stack in Florida is approxi-
mately 100 feet high. The material of construction should be
rubber-lined steel. Sampling portholes should be provided at a
minimum distance of 3 diameters from the stack exit.
FROM FROM DEMISTER
f REACTOR FILTER
g• PACKED TO FAN
SECTION
11
48" DIA.
36 DIA.
17' 0
TOP VIEW