Reduced copper sulphide sorbent for removing heavy metals
AssigneeJohnson Matthey PLC
InventorsLucy Jane Hetherington, Matthew John Cousins
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A sorbent, suitable for removing heavy metals, particularly mercury, from fluid streams containing a reductant such as hydrogen and/or carbon monoxide, is in the form of a shaped unit containing ≦0.1% by weight in total of heavy metal selected from mercury, arsenic, lead, cadmium and antimony, and 4-75% by weight of copper in the form of one or more reduced copper sulphides which have a sulphur to copper atomic ratio of ≦0.6:1.
Claims30
A sorbent, suitable for removing heavy metals from fluid streams containing a reductant comprising;
- a shaped unit containing ≦0.1% by weight in total of heavy metal selected from the group consisting of mercury, arsenic, lead, cadmium and antimony, and
- 4-75% by weight of copper in the form of one or more reduced copper sulphides which have a sulphur to copper atomic ratio of ≦0.6:1.
A method for the production of a sorbent in the form of a shaped unit containing ≦0.1% by weight in total of heavy metal selected from the group consisting of mercury, arsenic, lead, cadmium and antimony, and 4-75% by weight of copper in the form of one or more reduced copper sulphides which have a sulphur to copper atomic ratio of ≦0.6:1, comprising the steps of:
- (i) sulphiding a sorbent precursor comprising a copper sulphide precursor compound and a binder and/or support material with a gas mixture comprising hydrogen sulphide to form a sulphided copper material, and
- (ii) reducing the sulphided copper material to a lower oxidation state to form the sorbent,
- wherein the sorbent precursor or sorbent is shaped.
A process for the removal of heavy metals from a fluid stream containing a reductant by contacting a sorbent—in the form of a shaped unit containing ≦0.1% by weight in total of heavy metal selected from the group consisting of mercury, arsenic, lead, cadmium and antimony, and 4-75% by weight of copper in the form of one or more reduced copper sulphides which have a sulphur to copper atomic ratio of ≦0.6:1 with the fluid stream.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.