Regenerated adsorbent beds for sulfur compound removal
AssigneeBaker Hughes Oilfield Operations LLC
InventorsSai Reddy Pinappu, Jerry J. Weers, Timothy J. O'Brien, Waynn C. Morgan
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Abstract
A solvent comprised of (1) a caustic and an alcohol, (2) a caustic and a quaternary ammonium hydroxide, or (3) a caustic, an alcohol, and a quaternary ammonium hydroxide may contact an adsorbent bed that has been used to remove sulfur compounds from a hydrocarbon stream to extract adsorbed sulfur compounds from the adsorbent material in the bed to regenerate it. The regenerated adsorbent bed may be reused, either alone or in combination with a liquid-liquid extraction column, to remove sulfur compounds from a hydrocarbon stream.
Claims20
A process for regenerating an adsorbent bed, the process comprising:
- contacting the adsorbent bed with an effective amount of regeneration solvent comprising a combination of compounds selected from the group consisting of:
- (1) a caustic and an alcohol,
- (2) a caustic and a quaternary ammonium hydroxide, and
- (3) a caustic, an alcohol, and a quaternary ammonium hydroxide;
- and
- extracting adsorbed sulfur compounds from the adsorbent bed, wherein the adsorbent bed contains at least 5 grams of adsorbent material.
A process for removing sulfur compounds from a hydrocarbon stream using a regenerated adsorbent bed, the process comprising:
- contacting the hydrocarbon stream containing sulfur compounds with a regenerated adsorbent bed, wherein the regenerated adsorbent bed contains at least 5 grams of regenerated adsorbent material,
- at least partially adsorbing the sulfur compounds onto the regenerated adsorbent material and
- wherein, prior to contacting with the hydrocarbon stream, regenerating the adsorbent bed by contacting it with at least 10 milliliters per 5 grams of adsorbent material of a regeneration solvent comprising a combination of compounds selected from the group consisting of:
- (1) a caustic and an alcohol,
- (2) a caustic and a quaternary ammonium hydroxide, and
- (3) a caustic, an alcohol, and a quaternary ammonium hydroxide.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.