Jgc Corporation

Japan Petroleum Exploration Co., Ltd.

Jcg Corporation

Kazuo Sato

Hiromitsu Shibuya

Akio Furuta

Kunio Sato

Tooru Matsuzawa

Yoshiyuki Yamaguchi

Senichiro Kaku

Hirofumi Ito

To provide mercury-removal adsorbents, a method of producing mercury-removal adsorbents, and a method of removing mercury by adsorption which are capable of realizing efficient removal of mercury by adsorption from liquid hydrocarbon, thermal power station exhaust combustion gas, natural gas, off gas of various process plants, and so on which contain mercuries in various forms such as elemental mercury, ionic mercury, and organic mercury, and a concomitant hindering mercury adsorption. Mercury-removal adsorbents carrie potassium iodide in an amount of 27 to 70% of a total adsorbent weight, and a volume of pores with a 1 &#x3bc;m pore diameter or more in the mercury-removal adsorbents is 0.6 mL/g or more. These mercury-removal adsorbents are filled in, for example, an adsorption tower, and a hydrocarbon liquid is passed therethrough (mercury removal step). In a case where the hydrocarbon liquid contains saturated water, a dehydration unitor the like is installed on a preceding stage of the adsorption towerto dehydrate the hydrocarbon liquid (dehydration step).

Mercury-removal adsorbent, method of producing mercury-removal adsorbent, and method of removing mercury by adsorption

A mercury removal apparatus for a liquid hydrocarbon includes a conversion device which converts a mercury component in a raw liquid hydrocarbon into elemental mercury to obtain a first liquid hydrocarbon containing the elemental mercury. The apparatus also includes a first stripping device which brings the first liquid hydrocarbon into counter-current contact with a first stripping gas, thereby transferring the elemental mercury in the first liquid hydrocarbon to the first stripping gas to obtain (i) a second liquid hydrocarbon in which the amount of the elemental mercury decreases and (ii) a first gaseous hydrocarbon containing the elemental mercury.

Mercury removal apparatus for liquid hydrocarbon

A liquid hydrocarbon such as a natural gas liquid generally contains a small amount of mercury in a state of elemental mercury, ionized mercury, ionizable mercury compounds, which are requested to be removed thoroughly. Further, organic mercury compounds are contained in some natural gas liquid and other liquid hydrocarbons depending on their district of production, and its removal is also necessary. Already known adsorbents can adsorb elemental mercury and organic mercury compounds in a liquid hydrocarbon, but they hardly adsorb ionizable mercury compounds and ionized mercury derived from the ionizable mercury compounds. According to the preesent invention which comprises contacting the liquid hydrocarbon with a sulfur compound represented by a general formula MM'S.sub.x, wherein M is selected from a group consisting of alkali metal and ammonium radical, M' is selected from a group consisting of alkali metal, ammonium radical and hydrogen an x is a number of at least 1, the sulfur compound and mercury in the liquid hydrocarbon reacts to form mercury sulfide which is insoluble in the liquid hydrocarbon to be separated therefrom. If the liquid hydrocarbon contains organic mercury compounds together with elemental mercury ionized mercury and ionizable mercury compounds, the above-mentioned process is to be combined with a process of contacting the liquid hydrocarbon with an adsorbent comprising heavy metal sulfide to adsorb the organic mercury compounds together with the mercury sulfide which is formed in the above-mentioned process.

Process for removal of mercury from a liquid hydrocarbon

Liquid hydrocarbons such as natural gas liquid generally contain elementary mercury, ionized mercury and ionizable mercury compounds. All of them are requested to be removed. Further, organic mercury compounds are contained in some natural gas liquid and other liquid hydrocarbons depending on their district of production, and its removal is also necessary. It has been found that an adsorbent composition comprising multi-component metal sulfides supported on a carrier wherein one of metal component is molybdenum of 3-15 weight-% calculated as molybdenum metal in final product and another metal component is selected from the group consisting of cobalt and nickel, the atomic ratio of these to molybdenum being in the range of 0.05-0.9 can adsorb more amount of elemental mercury from hydrocarbons than the conventional adsorbents. It has been found further that the mercury in the forms of inorganic and organic compounds can also be adsorbed as well as elemental mercury from liquid hydrocarbons containing them by the adsorbents of the present invention.

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Higashiibaraki-gun, Japan

Kazuo Sato