The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
Jan. 15, 2019
Filed:
Oct. 26, 2015
Chevron U.s.a. Inc., San Ramon, CA (US);
Dennis John O'Rear, Petaluma, CA (US);
Russell Evan Cooper, Martinez, CA (US);
Chevron U.S.A. Inc., San Ramon, CA (US);
Abstract
Particulate mercury, in the form of metacinnabar, is removed from crude oil by thermally treating the crude oil at temperatures in a range from 150° C. to 350° C. and at a pressure sufficient to limit the amount of crude vaporizing to no more than 10 wt. %. In the thermal treatment, the particulate mercury is converted into elemental mercury, which can be removed by directly adsorption from the crude onto a support. In one embodiment, the elemental mercury can be removed by stripping the crude with a gas, and then adsorbing the mercury onto a support. The crude oil can be optionally treated prior to stabilization and contains 0.1 wt. % or more of C-hydrocarbons. Following the thermal treatment, the treated crude is cooled and the pressure is reduced. The C-hydrocarbons then vaporize from the crude and carry the elemental mercury with them. The elemental mercury in this hydrocarbon gas stream may then be removed by a solid adsorbent.