Mechanical Engineering and Sciences http://iptek.its.ac.id/index.php/jmes/index J ES The International Journal of Technical Study of the Performance of Liquid Sulfur Combustion in the Process of Sulfuric Acid Production 1 Suwarmin, 2 Bambang Sudarmanta, 3 Nur Ikhwan * 1,2,3 Department of Mechanical Engineering, Institut Teknologi Sepuluh Nopember, Surabaya 60111, Indonesia Received:4 January 2018, Revised: 1 March 2018, Accepted: 10 March 2018 Abstract The production process of sulfuric acid is carried out in stages from combustion of liquid sulfur to SO2, then to SO3 and dissolving SO3 in aqueous sulfuric acid solution to concentrated sulfuric acid (high concentration). The success of the production process is very dependent on the initial combustion process into SO2, physical parameters on the liquid sulfur characteristics and the nozzle geometry. The process of burning liquid sulfur depends on the pattern of atomization in the geometry of the nozzle and its fluid characteristics. Liquid sulfur is included in non-newtonian fluids, so the atomization process requires an understanding of its characteristics. The atomization mechanism at the nozzle depends on 3 parameters including viscosity, surface tension and density. In non- Newtonian fluid 3 parameters are sensitive to changes in pressure and temperature. In terms of the geometry of the tip nozzle diameter, smaller diameter, the atomization process is better, but a decrease in temperature will cause clogging. Individual installation of temperature and pressure sensors for each nozzle is chosen so that the atomization of each nozzle can be controlled. Keywords: Liquid sulfur, atomization, combustion, sulfuric acid and clogging 1. Introduction Sulfuric acid (H 2 SO 4 ) is a corrosive liquid, colorless, odorless, highly reactive and capable of dissolving vari- ous metals. This chemical can dissolve with water at all comparisons, has a melting point of 10,31 ◦ C and boiling point at 336,85 ◦ C depending on density. And at a temper- ature of 300 ◦ C or more can decomposes to produce sulfur trioxide[1]. Sulfuric acid (H 2 SO 4 ) is one of the petro- chemical industry products where the production process uses sulfur raw materials. In stoichiometry the process of sulfuric acid production is carried out by burning sulfur in stages then reacting with water. Liquid sulfur which is clean from storage tanks is flowed into the underground sulfur burner feed pit and is equipped with a steam coil heater. This pit is also equipped with a vertical type sulfur pump, a burner feed pump where this pump pumps liquid sulfur into sulfur furnace with a pressure of about 10 kg/cm 2 . Liquid sul- fur entering the sulfur furnace is sprayed through sulfur burner and reacted with dry air from the drying tower to SO 2 gas[2]. Subsequently the SO 2 conversion becomes SO 3 in a converter, that consists of four beds. Three beds are first level converters and the fourth bed is a second level converter. Each conversion rate has an absorber. Pro- cess gas containing SO 2 gas with a temperature of 430 ◦ C enters the converter bed where about 60% of SO 2 gas is converted to SO 3 with V 2 O 5 catalyst. Atmospheric air is sucked using an air blower through the drying tower. In this drying tower the water content in the air is absorbed by H 2 SO 4 and produces dry air. Sulfuric acid 98.5% is circulated through drying tower. Dry air from a 109 ◦ C temperature air blower is fed into sulfur furnace as com- bustion air for sulfur oxidation. Gas containing SO 3 from the last bed of the converter is absorbed by 98.5% H 2 SO 4 which is circulated in the absorbing tower to produce sulfuric acid[2]. In fact, the sulfuric acid industry will involve several parameters that will affect the reaction perfectly. Param- eters include physical and chemical conditions. Physical parameters are both temperature, pressure and geometry, while the chemical parameters are catalysts included in the process. Conditioning physical parameters and the use of the right catalyst greatly affect the quantity and quality of production. The production process of sulfuric acid includes burning sulfur to SO 2 , SO 2 to SO 3 and dissolving SO 3 to dilute sulfuric acid. In this process, not all SO 2 becomes SO 3 , some come out through the stack. The quan- tity of SO 2 coming out in free air is controlled according to environmental standards. The process of burning liquid material depends on several parameters. One of the most dominant parameters is the surface area that is in contact with air. In its implementation, increasing surface area and opportunity intersect with air through atomization mechanisms. Atomization using a nozzle aims to make the particles or droplets as small as possible and spread as large as possible. The size of the droplet and the distribu- tion of the material to be burned are strongly influenced * Email:suwarmin@me.its.ac.id, sudarmanta@me.its.ac.id, Ikhwan@me.its.ac.id The International Journal of Mechanical Engineering and Sciences; Vol. 2 , No. 1 (2018): 26-31