Sulfuric acid

Take performance to its peak while keeping sulfur dioxide (SO₂) emissions at an all-time low.

Backed by 80 years of sulfuric acid catalyst expertise, our extensive catalyst portfolio and unparallelled know-how can take your plant to its next level.

We launched our first sulfuric acid catalyst in 1944.

More than 700 references worldwide.

Proven technology and catalysts.

High catalyst activity.

Sulfuric acid: performance up, footprints down

Sulfuric acid is a widely used chemical found in numerous production processes, including fertilizer, metals, petrochemical, and oil refining.

As we write this, the sulfuric acid market is characterized by increasing demand. Profit margins are slim, and plants that want to succeed need feedstock flexibility, high conversion rates, low energy consumption, and high reliability. They must also meet increasingly strict limits on SO₂ emission. This means operators must adjust their strategies to achieve more with less, and lower emissions to reduce the impact of their operations on the environment and society.

Our sulfuric acid catalyst range and comprehensive service offerings can help any plant win in today’s market.

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80 years of sulfuric acid catalysts

Our first sulfuric acid catalyst was introduced in 1944. Eight decades of expertise and dedication to R&D later, we offer some of the most advanced catalysts on the market. Over the years, we have brought major product breakthroughs to the industry, providing it with new catalysts for more energy-efficient operation, lower SO₂ emissions, and higher production rates.

Supporting your sulfuric acid production

Let our solutions elevate your sulfuric acid production to new heights! Whether you are looking to optimize your current sulfuric acid plant or start production from the ground up, our solutions are designed to maximize the value of your sulfuric acid assets through enhanced performance, improved efficiency, and a reduced environmental footprint.

Produce sulfuric acid from sulfurous gases

If you’re looking for your next cutting-edge sulfuric acid technology, Wet gas Sulfuric Acid (WSA™) technology can help you. Our well-proven WSA™ technology allows you to convert sulfurous gases into commercial-grade sulfuric acid and generate high-pressure superheated steam for use elsewhere. It does so without drying the gas, while maintaining high energy efficiency, and very low emissions.

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Optimize your dry-gas sulfuric acid plant

The heart of the sulfuric acid plant is the catalytic SO₂converter, which makes catalyst quality and characteristics crucial to a reliable and energy-efficient operation. Our VK catalysts are a certain path to profitable sulfuric acid production. The catalysts offer the formula for profitable and compliant sulfuric acid production through high capacity, lower costs, emissions compliance, and greater flexibility.

The power of the VK catalysts

The VK series effectively covers all operating conditions in any sulfuric acid production plant.

Boost capacity

Converter performance is a common bottleneck that prevents plants from operating at optimal loads. High-performance catalysts like the VK range can eliminate this bottleneck and accommodate either higher feed-gas flows or higher SO₂ concentrations in the feed gas.

Minimize emissions

Regulatory requirements are forcing plants to lower SO₂ emissions and achieve conversion levels that would have seemed unimaginable just a decade ago. The VK range keeps you ahead of the emissions game, with an individualized selection of VK38, VK48, VK59, VK69 or LEAP5™ catalysts making sure your operators achieve their conversion targets.

Reduce scrubber cost

Operating a scrubber can be costly and generate by-products that need to be disposed of. However, optimizing your converter loading strategy can help you reduce chemical consumptions or even avoid operating the scrubber altogether.

Cut energy costs and downtime

Excessive energy costs and downtime can quickly eat into your plant’s profit. Thanks to its daisy shape, high activity and good dust capacity, the VK range keeps pressure drop, energy costs and downtime to a minimum.

Countering dust, increasing campaign length

At many plants, dust is the main cause of insufficient campaign lengths, forcing unscheduled shutdowns for screening. Our dust protection catalyst can reduce the rate of pressure drop build-up by improved dust distribution. This has been demonstrated to increase campaign length by 100%.

Flexible operations

The VK range offers plenty of flexibility, with optimized solutions for producing sulfuric acid from elemental sulfur, spent sulfuric acid or sulfurous gases. Very low strike temperatures and outstanding activity enable the VK range to help reduce costly pre-heating, for faster, cleaner start-ups.

Technical service: Optimize your catalyst management

Managing a sulfuric acid plant is challenging. Day-to-day optimization can be demanding even on the best of days, and occasionally, real trouble can arise. Sudden changes in pressure drops or emissions can force a decrease in production or even a full shutdown for repairs. This is where our VK Service team comes in.

The VK service team offers an opportunity to tap into our experience and receive customized recommendations on the best ways to maintain high performance and
profitability.

Plant performance assessment, spent catalyst activity testing, on-site gas analysis service (TOPGUN), dynamic simulation service (DYNSOX™) and catalyst inspections and training, are some of the services we offer.

Tip the scales with the new sulfuric acid catalyst

VK69 – The uncrowned king of sulfuric acid catalysts since 1996

The very high activity of VK69 offers significant performance improvements. It cuts SO₂ emissions from existing plants in half without increasing the catalyst volume. On top of this, it increases production rate by using higher-strength SO₂ gas without increasing SO₂emissions.

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Highlights

Brochure

The profitable way to sulfuric acid

Profit margins are slim in the sulfuric acid business. Plants that want to succeed need feedstock flexibility, high conversion rates, low energy consumption, high reliability, and, on top of this, meet increasingly strict limits on SO2 emission. Our VK catalysts are a certain path to profitable production whether your plant produces sulfuric acid from elemental sulfur, spent sulfuric acid or sulfurous gases.

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Customer case

Guizhou Kailin sulfuric acid plants combat dust to eliminate unplanned downtime and improve OPEX

The Guizhou Kailin Fertilizer company had two sulfuric acidplants in Guizhou, China that were experiencing severe pressure drop build-up over the first catalyst bed, increasing energy costs and eating away at margins. They approached us to optimize their operations, and ultimately deployed a layer of our dust protection catalysts, VK38.

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White paper

Tip the scales - Get more from your sulfuric acid catalyst expenses with VK38+

Choosing catalysts is a percentage game. Selecting the right catalysts for a SO2 converter has always been about balancing expenses and gains. The new VK38+ helps create that balance – and more.

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Contact us

Do you have a question about our products or solutions? Or do you want to know how our technologies can support your business? Contact our experts today.

Backed by 80 years of sulfuric acid catalyst expertise, our extensive catalyst portfolio and unparallelled know-how can take your plant to its next level.

We launched our first sulfuric acid catalyst in 1944.

More than 700 references worldwide.

Proven technology and catalysts.

High catalyst activity.

Sulfuric acid: performance up, footprints down

80 years of sulfuric acid catalysts

Supporting your sulfuric acid production

Produce sulfuric acid from sulfurous gases

Optimize your dry-gas sulfuric acid plant

The power of the VK catalysts

Boost capacity

Minimize emissions

Reduce scrubber cost

Cut energy costs and downtime

Countering dust, increasing campaign length

Flexible operations

Technical service: Optimize your catalyst management

VK69 – The uncrowned king of sulfuric acid catalysts since 1996

Highlights

The profitable way to sulfuric acid

Guizhou Kailin sulfuric acid plants combat dust to eliminate unplanned downtime and improve OPEX

Tip the scales - Get more from your sulfuric acid catalyst expenses with VK38+

Related solutions

Sulfuric acid catalysts

The Wet gas Sulfuric Acid (WSA™) technology

Emission control

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