Uop Lcc

Richard Correia

Andrew S Zarchy

Chien C Chao

Processes are disclosed for the separation of hydrogen sulfide from feedstreams containing hydrogen sulfide and hydrocarbons by adsorption using a clinoptilolite adsorbent containing cations having ionic radii of from about 1.10 to 1.40 Angstroms. The processes can provide substantially enhanced adsorption capacities as compared with other adsorbents such as Zeolite 4A. As a result, a throughput of existing sulfur adsorption plants can be increased, e.g., by about 100%. The processes can be operated at elevated adsorption temperatures, e.g., greater than about 200.degree. F., and thus are particularly suitable when integrated with other processing steps such as hydrocarbon conversion reactions that utilize catalysts which are sulfur-sensitive. In addition, the clinoptilolite adsorbents of the present invention have a high tolerance to environments that comprise halides, e.g., HCl.

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Elmsford, NY, United States of America

Richard Correia