Format

The symposium takes the form of organized presentations and panel discussions by industry experts from operating companies, academia, and suppliers of products and services.  In addition to the presentations and panels, each daily session will include one or more open-floor question-and-answer periods.  These standalone Q&A sessions have proven to be an essential part of the symposium.

In addition to the papers mentioned above, annual presentations covering important subjects such as safety and regulatory issues along with plant startups and shutdowns are given each year. Alberta Sulphur Research Limited, the premier research organization for sulfur processing, presents one or more technical papers each year at the Brimstone Sulfur Symposium. Similarly, the highly respected Amine Best Practices Group provides a technical paper and their own  dedicated Q&A session. For a listing of recent presentations, see below. We limit the maximum number of attendees to around 90 registrants because we find that keeping the symposium to a modest size is key to encouraging participation.

 

 

Program Schedule

Monday	Evening Registration:	7:00pm – 8:30pm (optional)
Tuesday	Morning Registration:	7:30am – 8:00am
	Day One Session:	8:00am – 4:30pm
	Evening Mixer:	6:00pm – 7:30pm
Wednesday	Day Two Session:	8:00am – 4:30pm
	Evening Mixer:	6:00pm – 7:30pm
Thursday	Day Three Session:	8:30am – 5:00pm
	Evening Mixer:	6:00pm – 7:30pm
Friday	Day Four Session:	8:30am – 11:30am

 

 

Venue

The symposium will be held at the Sonnenalp Hotel of Vail. The town of Vail, Colorado is approximately 120 miles west of the Denver International Airport. Because there are so many Vail Village restaurants, shops, and services within easy and pleasant walking distance of the Sonnenalp, many attendees don’t bother with a rental car. Two different shuttle van services between the Denver airport and Vail are available:

Peak 1 Express at https://www.mountainshuttle.com, phone 855 467 3251

Epic Mountain Express at https://www.epicmountainexpress.com, phone 970 754 7433.

Venue contact information:

Sonnenalp Family of Resorts and Hotels
866-284-4411 toll-free
970-476-5656
“Vail’s World Class Address”

After you have registered, the hotel room reservation link will be emailed to you, and you can contact the Sonnenalp for your discounted room registration. Please note that the Sonnenalp has arranged discounted rates of $265 per night (plus $20 resort fee, taxes, fees, and $20 valet parking) for attendees of the Sulfur Symposium. There are other hotels within walking distance that are generally available at lower rates. Also note that while spouses and/or guests are always welcome at our conferences, to keep costs under control we have added a special fee for spouses/guests who plan to attend the lunches. The price for an additional guest seat at the three lunches is $120.

The scheduling of live conferences and meetings has been challenging during the last several years, but we are hopeful that with the ongoing improvements in the pandemic situation, we will be able to continue to have live meetings without further issues. The Sonnenalp and Brimstone work together to provide the safest possible conditions in order to minimize the risk of Covid exposure.  However, it is always possible that public health concerns may force us to modify our plans for an in-person meeting, and we may need to conduct the conference in a virtual format instead. We will keep everyone updated about any changes in our plans for the conference, both through e-mails and through our website.

 

 

Conference Registration

Registration for this year’s Sulfur Symposium opens Wednesday, June 12^th at 07:30.  Because our conference is very popular, attendee seats are made available on a first come, first served basis.  We’re pleased to say that the Vail conference has sold out every year for the last 23 years.

Of the 90 available seats, we block out 45 for our vendor/supply/service company friends.  These vendor spots sell out very quickly, typically within several minutes of the start of registration (our record, from 2015, is slightly over two minutes), so make sure you set your alarm.

For attendees from operating companies, we extend the registration cutoff date to mid-July.  For a number of operating companies, Brimstone uses appointed “Seat Block Coordinators” (typically the sulfur/amine SME for that company) who coordinate registrations for attendees from their companies.  If you work for an operating company and are interested in attending the conference, you should first contact your seat block coordinator.  If your company is not listed below, please register any time after June 12^th, but be aware that operations attendee seats are also offered on a first come, first served basis, so register as early as possible.

As mentioned above, the June 12^th date for registration does not apply to attendees from operating companies. Attendees from those companies have until July 10^th to register. If you work for one of the following companies, please contact your Company Seat Block Coordinator before attempting to register:

Company	Coordinator	Location
BP	Ron Rozic	Whiting Refinery
Chevron	Bart Welch	Pascagoula Refinery
ExxonMobil	Tye Aikens	Spring, Texas
Flint Hills	Jacob Lundmark	Pine Bend Refinery
HFSinclair	Vijay Krishnan	Dallas
Marathon	Stan Holbrook	Salt Lake Refinery
Motiva	Ron Pitman	Houston
Phillips 66	Nate Hatcher	Houston
Shell	Ganesh Kidambi	Bangalore
Suncor	Mark Young	Calgary
Valero	Vincent Wong	San Antonio

 

 

Registration Costs

The symposium registration fee ($1,950.00 USD) covers all symposium materials and lunches. Attendees are responsible for their own hotel accommodations, breakfasts, dinners (except Wednesday evening, which is included) and transportation. The symposium is held in the Sonnenalp Resort Hotel, and discounted room rates (approximately $265 per night plus $20 resort fee, valet parking at $20 per night if you have a car, plus taxes and fees) have been arranged for our attendees.  Spouses are always welcome at our conferences, but to keep costs under control, there is an additional fee for spouses who plan to attend the lunches. The cost for an additional seat at the three lunches is $120.

The registration fee will be fully refunded if a cancellation notice is received on or before August 7^th. After that date, if you find that you cannot attend but would like to send someone else from your company in your place, just have them register and send us an e-mail (or give us a call) and let us know. Please note that submission of a registration form signifies a commitment to pay the conference registration fee.

In the event that the 2024 Sulfur Recovery Symposium must be held again as a virtual meeting, the registration fee will be $700 and anyone who has paid the full conference fee of $1,950 will be refunded the balance.

 

 

Sulfur Symposium Technical Advisory Committee

The Brimstone Sulfur Symposium is proud to receive guidance from a committee selected from among experts in our industry.  They help shape the format and content of our Symposia.  The current Technical Advisory Committee membership includes:

• Thomas Chow, Fluor Energy & Chemicals
• Dennis Koscielnuk, Worley/Comprimo Engineering
• Rob Marriott, Alberta Sulphur Research Ltd
• Domenica Misale-Lyttle, Industrial Ceramics
• John Morgan, J.M. Campbell / Petroskills
• Alan Mosher, Black & Veatch
• Elmo Nasato, Nasato Consulting
• Phil Oberbroeckling, Houston Refining
• Dave Sikorski, HEC Technologies Ltd.
• Bart Welch, Chevron Products Company

 

 

 

2023 Vail Presentations Titles

• “Sulfur Production – Note Set”  Jay Davis (Chevron), John Morgan (John M. Campbell / Petroskills), and Elmo Nasato (Nasato Consulting)
• “Incinerator Optimization – How to Save Energy and Reduce CO₂ Emissions”  Enrique Aceves De Alba (ExxonMobil Technology and Engineering Company)
• “SRU/TGTU Project Execution Startup Lessons Learned from Owner/Licensor Perspective”  Marcus Weber, Thomas Chow and Theresa Flood (Fluor Energy Solutions)
• “Pushing Boundaries: Two Amine Regenerator Case Studies”  Jim Critchfield (Consultant), Joel Cantrell (Bryan Research & Engineering) and Christina Daniels (INEOS GAS/SPEC Technology Group) 
• “Ultra Capacity with Ultra Low Emissions – Thiopaq O&G Tail Gas Treating of Oxygen – Enriched Claus SRUs”  Theresa Flood, Thomas Chow, Marcus Weber (Fluor), Sandra Schreuder, Rjeks de Rink, Joost I.H. Timmerman and Jan-Henk van Dijk (Paqell)
• “Shutting Down and Starting Up an Amine System”  Jason Stavros and Jack Taylor (Phillips 66 Bayway Refinery) on behalf of the Amine Best Practices Group
• “Technical Review: ENAP Aconcagua Refinery Sulfur Block”  Marco van Son (Comprimo), Xavier Pizarro Villanueva (ENAP Concon Chile), Ines Hernandez-Virla, (Comprimo), Sebastián Chaparro Hernandez, and Carmen Bello Rodriquez (ENAP Concon, Chile)
• “Titania and Alumina Supported Co-Mo Catalysts for Hydrogenation of Sulfur Compounds: A Morphology and Reactivity Study”  Christopher B. Lavery, Ruohong Sui and Robert A. Marriott (Alberta Sulphur Research, Ltd.)
• “Claus Thermal Stage Yields: A Question of Equilibrium, Kinetics, or Heat Transfer?”  Al Keller (Consultant, AlChemE)
• “Simulation-based Analysis of the Effects of Feedwater Distribution on Vapor Hold-Up in Kettle-type Waste Heat Boilers”  Nasato (Nasato Consulting), Treeratanaphitak (Thammasat University, Thailand) and N.M. Abukhdeir (Continuum Engineering)
• “Amine Hygiene and Sustainability”  Jeff Bricker (Chem Group MPR Services) and Mike Millard (OrgChem Group)
• “Pure Evil – Tall Tales of the Most Heinous Hydrocarbons In Refinery Amine Systems”  Nate Hatcher (Phillips 66, Houston), Maddie Mille, Marshall Heltz, Bob Vitt, Jason Kaliszeski, Skyla Scott (Phillips 66 Lake Charles Refinery), Leonard Nyadong and Jesse Contreras (Phillips 66 Energy Research & Innovations, Bartlesville)
• “Highly Efficient SO₂ and SO₃ (sulfuric acid mist) Mitigation Using Sodium Sorbents in Refinery SRU Tail Gas Streams”  Zack Doran (SOLVAir®)
• “A Coordinated, Holistic Approach to SRU & TGTU Catalyst Selection”  Brian Visioli (Evonik)

 

2022 Vail Presentations Titles

• “Degassing Sulfur with Morpholine”  Ron Pitman (Motiva)
• Amine Best Practices Group (ABPG) Annual Technical Paper:  “Now We’re Cooking – The Effect of Biodiesel Feeds on LPG Treater Operations”  Al Keller (Al Chem. E., LLC) on behalf of the Amine Best Practices Group
• “Successful Operation of SRU with Condenser(s) Bypassed”  David Granum (Contango Lost Cabin Plant)
• “Stuck in the 90’s (alumina) – or – A New Hybrid Approach: 21^st Century Mullite Refractories for Optimum SRU Lining Stability”  Chris Windle (DSF Refractories and Minerals)
• Cameo Presentation:  “Amines for Carbon Capture”  Jesse Santos (BASF/Nalco)
• Alberta Sulphur Research (ASRL) Annual Technical Paper:   “Start-of-Run Versus End-of-Run Kinetics for COS and CS₂ Conversion Across Claus Catalysts”  Christopher B. Lavery, Dao Li, Ruohong Sui, and Robert A. Marriott (Alberta Sulphur Research, Ltd.)
• Cameo Presentation:  “Claus Thermal Reactor Port Purging”  Nick Roussakis, David Sikorski (HEC)
• “SRU Thermal Stage Process Camera: The First Pilot Test”  Matt Coady, Martin McCallister, Ted Keys (Delta Controls)
• “Thermal Reactor Refractory Enhancements for Oxygen Enriched Service”  Jimmy Lam, Jay Davis (Chevron) and Andy Piper, Jeff Proctor (Thorpe Specialty Services)
• “The Trouble with Ammonia:  How Processing Biofuels Changes the Approach”  Marco van Son, Frank Bela (Worley Comprimo)
• “Identifying the Upstream Contributors to Issues Within the Amine System”  Sharon Maydak (Pentair)
• Cameo Presentation: “Sulfur Run-Down Liquid Level Prediction”  Brandon Forbes (Ametek/Controls Southeast), Joseph Tucker, Armias Adhanom, Justin Domingo, Baron Le and Reagan Rushing (University of North Carolina Charlotte Senior Design Team)
• “A Kinetic Model for TGU Hydrogenation Reactors – What Temperature Profiles Say About Catalyst Aging and Poisoning”  Michael A. Huffmaster (Consultant), Prashanth Chandran, Nathan Hatcher and Daryl Jensen (Optimized Gas Treating)
• “Riding the Dragon: Sulfur Plant Thermal Reactor Temperature Measurement – Tools, Tips, and Tactics”  Daryl Jensen, Nathan Hatcher, Matt Bailey (Optimized Gas Treating) and Matt Coady (Delta Controls)
• Cameo Presentation: “How Easily Do Modern Sulfur Products Meet 1970’s Specifications and What Other Handling Practices Might Be Useful in Avoiding Extraneous Dust?”  R. A Marriott, F. Bernard, F.B. Hall, C.E Deering and P.D. Davis (Alberta Sulphur Research Ltd.)
• Cameo Presentation: “ASTM Industry Heat Transfer Program Discrepancies”  Andy Piper, Jeff Proctor and Dan Milsaps (Thorpe Specialty Services)
• “Sulfur Production Reference Note Set”  John Morgan (John M. Campbell / Petroskills), Elmo Nasato (Nasato Consulting) and Jay Davis (Chevron)

 

2021 Vail Presentations Titles

• “Starting Up SRU’s Remotely”  Marco van Son, Salim Kadiwala, Charlie Zheng, Gerrit Bloemendal, Jan-Willem Hennipman, Ellen Ticheler  (Comprimo)
• Alberta Sulphur Research (ASRL) Annual Technical Paper: “Ammonium Salt Vapour Pressures: What Conditions Could Lead to Ammonium Salt Deposition?”  R. A. Marriott, M. Madekufamba and K.L. Lesage  (Alberta Sulphur Research Ltd. -ASRL)
• “Performance of JeffTreat Ultra Solvent at the SCOT Unit in Norco Refinery”  Emily Bergeron, Joshua Macmillan and Jason Lowry (Shell Norco Refinery), Jim Critchfield, Ganesh Kidambi and Xiangzhou Li (Shell Products and Technology), Patrick Holub (Huntsman Corporation)
• “Refractory Enhancements – The Devil is in the Details: A Case History of Improving Thermal Reactor Safety”  Rick Johnson (BP Cherry Point Refinery), Andy Piper and Jeff Proctor (Thorpe Specialty Services)
• “Startup Foaming Issues in a New Tail Gas Unit”  Sam Copper, Katlyn Thomas, Jesse Contreras, Leonard Nyadong Stephanie Goff, Brian Viceral and Jason Stavros (Phillips 66), Nate Hatcher (Optimized Gas Treating)
• “Estimation of H₂S Evolution in Molten Sulfur Storage and Handling Processes”  Darshan J. Sachde, Steven Fulk,  Carrie Ann Beitler and Kenneth McIntush (Trimeric Corp)
• “BASF Amine Stabilizer & Nalco Intercept Corrosion Control for Gas Treating Amines”  Matthew Mancuso (CNX Resources-Marcellus), Jesse Santos (BASF), Rodolfo Gonzales (Nalco Water)
• “High Temperature Sulfidation in the Claus versus Hydrotreating Environments”  C.B. Lavery, R. Sui and R.A. Marriott (Alberta Sulphur Research Ltd. – ASRL)
• “On-the-Run Refinery Main Amine Unit Conversion from 2-aminoethoxyethanol to MDEA-based Ucarsol LE 777 Solvent”  Aristotle Economou, Sean Mollberg, Diego Cristancho and Armin Hassanzedeh (Dow)
• “Understanding Unpurged Thermocouples in Sulfur Recovery”  Matt Coady (Delta Controls Corporation)
• “The Impact of Biofuels on Sulphur Recovery”  Inshan Mohammad (Sulfur Recovery Engineering)
• “Sulfur Production Reference Note Set”  John Morgan (Morgan-Denver LLC) and Elmo Nasato (Nasato Consulting)

 

2020 Vail Presentations Titles

• Alberta Sulphur Research (ASRL) Annual Technical Paper: “Update on the High Temperature Sulfidation of Carbon Steel Under Claus WHB Conditions” Robert A. Marriott, Ruohong Sui, Norman I. Dowling, and Christopher B. Lavery, Alberta Sulphur Research Ltd. (ASRL)
• “Refractory Design Compatibility Study in SRU Thermal Reactors”  Haytham A. Al-Barrak and Mohammed M. Al-Ayesh, Saudi Aramco;  Andy Piper, Thorpe Specialty Services;  Nick Roussakis, HEC Technologies;  Elmo Nasato, Nasato Consulting Ltd
• “Preventing or Extinguishing Molten Sulfur Tank and Pit Fires”  Carrie Ann Beitler, Darshan J. Sachde, Darryl Mamrosh, Ken McIntush, Trimeric Corp.
• “Temperature Measurement Considerations for the Claus Thermal Reactor”  Matt Coady and Ted Keys, Delta Controls Corporation
• “Hot and Humid Claus –  A New Perspective on Optimizing Claus Reactors”  Michael Huffmaster, Consultant
• Amine Best Practices Group (ABPG) Annual Technical Paper:  “How Meaningful Are Rules of Thumb for Claus Ammonia Destruction?”  Al Keller, on behalf of the Amine Best Practices Group
• “SRU Startups and Shutdowns – ‘Hot’ Topics”  Greg Hanlon,  Treating & Sulfur Solutions Inc.
• “Amine Corrosion Troubleshooting With Acid Gas Enrichment Units”  Inshan Mohammad, and Bob Veroba, Sulfur Recovery Engineering Inc.
• “Specifying Internals in Sour Water Strippers”  Brad Piggott, Carrie Ann Beitler, Ken McIntush, Trimeric Corporation
• “Sulphur Recovery with COPE® Oxygen Enrichment Claus and OASE® sulfexx™ Tail Gas Treating”  Jenny Seagraves, ExxonMobil Chemical Company; Jay Haybayeb and Ashraf Abufaris, BASF Middle East; Blake Morell, BASF Corporation; Thomas Chow, Fluor Energy & Chemicals
• “Sulfur Production Reference Note Set”  John Morgan (Morgan-Denver LLC) and Elmo Nasato (Nasato Consulting)

 

2019 Vail Presentations Titles

• “TGTU Trays Versus Packing, an In-Depth Analysis of the Right Approach”  Marco van Son, Salim Kadiwala (Comprimo)
• “On-Line Replacement of a Below-Grade Steel Sulfur Tank”  Steve Gates (Job Industrial Services) and Larry Baker (HollyFrontier)
• “Impact of Operational Challenges on SRU Reliability and Capacity Availability: Part One, Normal and Abnormal Situations”  Credante Casilang, Jason Harlan, Andres Novoa, Alan Peters (Shell Oil Products US), William Acevedo, Jim Critchfield, Roger Rangi (Shell Projects & Technology) and Jim Jenkins (Shell Products US)
• Cameo Presentation: “Molten Sulfur Vent Stream Disposition – Vent Stream Routing, Managing Emissions, and Impact of Process Conditions”  Darshan Sachde, Carrie Ann M. Beitler, Kenneth E. McIntush (Trimeric)
• Cameo Presentation: “Hybrid Solvent Formulations Tailored for Gas Treating Needs: Total Acid Gas Removal and Selective Sulfur Removal”  John Dowdle, Jason Binz and Nick Shurgott (Dow), Megan Robb (Breitburn Operating)
• Cameo Presentation:  “The Benefit of Using Titania in Tail Gas Catalysis – Lessons Tail Gas Treatment Can Learn from Claus Unit”  Mark van Hoeke,  Hans Wijnbelt (EuroSupport and Shell Catalysts and Technologies
• “Key to a Long and Active Life – Effective Activation of Low Temperature Tail Gas Catalyst and Damage Avoidance”  Michael Huffmaster (Consultant), Karl Krueger, Hans Wijnbelt (Shell Catalysts and Technologies)
• Cameo Presentation:  “The Price of Startup, Shutdown, and Turndown Operations”  G. Simon A. Weiland, Steven M. Fulk, Matthew D. Bailey and Nathan A. Hatcher (Optimized Gas Treating)
• Cameo Presentation: “Is Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) Necessary for O₂ Enrichment Revamps?”  Natalia S. Chacon, Robert Butts (Shell Oil Products), Marco van Son, Salm Kadwala, Youlei Weng (Comprimo), Sean McGuffie, Michael Porter (Porter McGuffie Inc.)
• Alberta Sulphur Research (ASRL) Annual Technical Paper:   “Kinetic Studies for CS₂ and COS Conversion Across the Claus Catalytic Converters”  Christopher B. Lavery, Mojgan Lotfali-Kazemi, Norman I. Dowling and Robert A. Marriott  (Alberta Sulphur Research Ltd.)
• Cameo Presentation: “Rheometric Properties of Liquid Elemental Sulfur and Modifying Effects of Hydrogen Sulfide”  Mitchell J. Stashick, Gabriel O. Sofekun and Robert A. Marriott (Alberta Sulphur Research Ltd.)
• “Unexpected Operational Issues in TGTU after Trays to Packing Changeout”   Christina Daniels (INEOS Gas/Spec Technology Group)
• Cameo Presentation: “Delayed Coker System Contributions to Contamination and Fouling in Sour Water Systems”   Sharon Maydak (Pentair Separations)
• Amine Best Practices Group (ABPG) Annual Technical Paper:  “SRU Wasteheat Steam Generator Tube Guillotine Failure”  Jacob Lundmark (Flint Hills Resources)
• “Sulfur Plant and Tail Gas Unit Startups and Shutdowns”  Greg Hanlon (Treating and Sulfur Solutions), Elmo Nasato (Nasato Consulting)
• “New Year, New Amine – Phillips 66 Sweeny Refinery Amine Changeover”  Dillon Morse and Jason Stavros (Phillips 66)
• “Amine Best Practices Group  (ABPG) Annual Q&A”  Lon Stern  (Consultant, representing the Amine Best Practices Group)
• “Sulfur Production Reference Note Set”  John Morgan (John M. Campbell / Petroskills), Elmo Nasato (Nasato Consulting) and Jay Davis (Chevron)

 

Pre-2019 Vail Presentations Titles (Click Here)