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ASARCO LLC's copper smelter in Hayden, Arizona undertook a major converter retrofit project to achieve compliance with increasingly stringent Environmental Protection Agency sulfur dioxide emission requirements. The project's central objective was to increase sulfur fixation efficiency from the existing 95% level to greater than 99%, representing a significant technical challenge that required comprehensive upgrades to both converting equipment and associated gas handling systems. Gas Cleaning Technologies played a key role in this complex retrofit, providing engineering expertise and equipment design for the enhanced off-gas collection and cleaning infrastructure.
The retrofit project centered on the installation of new 15-foot diameter Peirce-Smith converters, substantially larger than the facility's previous equipment. These larger converters required completely redesigned primary and secondary gas collection hoods, off-gas ducting systems, and downstream cleaning equipment capable of handling increased gas volumes while maintaining the capture efficiency necessary to achieve 99%+ sulfur fixation. Gas Cleaning Technologies' engineering team addressed the integration challenges of installing new large-scale equipment within existing building constraints while maintaining production continuity throughout the construction phases.
The upgraded gas handling systems incorporated advanced design features to minimize fugitive emissions during converter operations, including optimized hood geometries developed through computational fluid dynamics modeling, enhanced sealing systems, and properly sized ductwork to maintain appropriate gas velocities. These improvements enable the facility to capture and process nearly all sulfur dioxide generated during converting operations, directing it to the acid plant for conversion to saleable sulfuric acid rather than atmospheric release. The project demonstrates how strategic retrofits can transform existing facilities to meet modern environmental standards while maintaining economic viability.
This ASARCO Hayden project update illustrates Gas Cleaning Technologies' capabilities in complex retrofit engineering for operating smelters facing regulatory compliance deadlines. Facilities confronting similar sulfur capture challenges can benefit from GCT's proven methodologies for upgrading converter gas handling systems to achieve ultra-high collection efficiencies required by current environmental regulations.
