Abstract: An apparatus and method for treating waste products produced by chemical processing plants. Steam stripping waste sour water results in a vapor including ammonia and hydrogen sulfide. A scrubber unit including a quenching column produces a concentrated ammonium sulfide solution. The concentrated ammonium sulfide allows for more efficient transfer from more than one refinery to a centralized purification facility for further processing.

Abstract: A method for treating a waste product from a chemical processing plant. Chemical processing plants such as oil refineries produce sour water waste that includes ammonia and hydrogen sulfide. The sour water is typically steam stripped to form a vapor stream including water, the ammonia and the hydrogen sulfide. The vapor stream is converted into a concentrated ammonium sulfide solution using a scrubber unit that includes a cooling and quenching column. Concentrating the byproducts provides for more efficient transportation of the concentrate from several refineries to a remote, centralized purification facility.