Process to remove mercury from monoethylene glycol streams
OwnerMarcus Vinicius DUTRA E MELLO, Raja Ankush JADHAVinventors
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Abstract
A process for removing mercury from a stream containing monoethylene glycol (MEG) in an oil or gas production process is provided. The method includes adding an additive to the stream containing the MEG and mercury. The additive is a component capable of coagulating the mercury, such as a dithiocarbamate derivative. The method further includes filtering the stream containing the MEG after adding the additive to the stream to remove the coagulated mercury. The filtering step is typically conducted in a hydrophilic filter having a pore size ranging from 0.45 micron to 30 microns, preferably 10 microns to 20 microns. After the filtering step, the stream typically includes less than 50 ppb of mercury.
Claims20
A process for removing mercury from a stream containing monoethylene glycol (MEG), comprising the steps of:
- in a hydrocarbon production facility:
- adding an additive to the stream containing MEG and mercury, wherein the additive coagulates, binds, and/or agglomerates the mercury;
- and
- filtering at least some of the coagulated, bound, and/or agglomerated mercury out of the stream containing the MEG after adding the additive to the stream to produce a mercury-depleted stream.
A process for producing natural gas, comprising the steps of:
- adding an additive to a rich stream containing alkylene glycol and mercury, wherein the additive coagulates the mercury;
- filtering at least some of the coagulated mercury out of the rich stream after adding the additive to the rich stream to produce a mercury-depleted rich stream;
- distilling the mercury-depleted rich stream containing alkylene glycol to produce a lean stream containing alkylene glycol;
- and
- combining the lean stream containing alkylene glycol with a natural gas stream to prevent hydrate formation in the natural gas stream.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.