Lurgi Rectisol™

The "5-in-1" purification solution

Harmful acid gases and trace components contained in raw syngas must be removed before downstream processing. Rectisol™ achieves this by using a physical solvent (cold methanol) to safely and efficiently absorb these impurities. The rich solvent is then regenerated through flashing and stripping.

Recognized globally as the leading process for syngas purification, Rectisol™ delivers a complete "5-in-1" solution in a single integrated step:

1. Trace contaminant removal (including carbonyls, mercaptans, and HCN).
2. Deep desulfurization (total sulfur < 80 ppb).
3. Bulk CO₂ removal (up to 100%).
4. CO₂ purification (total sulfur < 5 ppmv), generating a dry CO₂ capture-ready stream (> 98.5 vol%).
5. Acid gas enrichment (sulfur > 25 vol%) suitable for sulfur recovery processes.

Best-in-class scale and efficiency

Rectisol™ is incredibly versatile, designed to purify raw syngas derived from the gasification of virtually any carbon-containing feedstock, including coal, petcoke, heavy oil residues, municipal solid wastes and biomass.

Engineered for massive industrial applications, a single train can process up to 1,000,000 Nm³/hr of feed gas. By combining an inexpensive, chemically stable solvent with optimized heat integration, the process guarantees competitively low operating costs (OPEX) and exceptional plant availability. This makes it the premier choice for generating clean syngas for the production of Synfuels, Methanol, Ammonia, Hydrogen, Synthetic Natural Gas (SNG) and other valuable chemicals.

A native enabler for carbon capture

Rectisol™ is inherently designed to support industrial decarbonization. Because the process natively removes up to 100% of bulk CO₂ and generates a dry, high-purity (> 98.5 vol%) offgas, it provides a "capture-ready" stream without requiring a separate, costly downstream carbon capture unit. For facilities specifically seeking to optimize this process for Carbon Capture, Utilization, and Storage (CCUS), Air Liquide offers Recticap™, a specialized adaptation of this technology dedicated exclusively to maximizing CO₂ recovery and purity.