Water-based formulation of H2S/mercaptan scavenger for fluids in oilfield and refinery applications

A method for scavenging hydrogen sulfide from a fluid comprising:

• contacting the fluid with from about 50 weight % to about 99 weight % of a protic composition to reduce the amount of hydrogen sulfide therein, the protic composition consisting of:
• a protic solvent;
• optionally a base selected from the group consisting of sodium hydroxide, potassium hydroxide and combinations thereof;
• and
• a non-nitrogen-based compound having a formula selected from the group consisting of:
• wherein each R1, R2, R3, and R4 are the same or different and are selected from the group consisting of hydrogen, an alkyl, an alkenyl, an aryl, an acyl, a halogen, a hydroxyl, an alkyl ester, an aryl ester, an alkyl ether, an aryl ether, a hydroxymethyl, an anhydride, and a sulfide where the protic composition has a pH of greater than 9 and the protic composition contains at least about 50 ppm by mass of the compound, and where the fluid is selected from the group consisting of:
• an aqueous phase,
• a gaseous phase,
• a mixture of an aqueous phase and a gaseous phase,
• a mixture of an aqueous phase and a hydrocarbon phase, and
• a mixture of an aqueous phase, a gaseous phase and a hydrocarbon phase.

A method for scavenging hydrogen sulfide from a fluid consisting of:

• contacting the fluid with from about 50weight % to about 99 weight % of a protic composition to reduce the amount of hydrogen sulfide therein, the protic composition consisting of:
• a protic solvent;
• a base selected from the group consisting of sodium hydroxide, potassium hydroxide and combinations thereof;
• and
• a non-nitrogen-based compound having a formula selected from the group consisting of:
• wherein each R1, R2, R3, and R4 are the same or different and are selected from the group consisting of hydrogen, an alkyl, an alkenyl, an aryl, an acyl, a halogen, a hydroxyl, an alkyl ester, an aryl ester, an alkyl ether, an aryl ether, a hydroxymethyl, an anhydride, and a sulfide where the protic composition has a pH of from about 11 to about 13 and the protic composition contains at least about 50 ppm by mass of the compound, and where the fluid is selected from the group consisting of:
• an aqueous phase,
• a gaseous phase,
• a mixture of an aqueous phase and a gaseous phase,
• a mixture of an aqueous phase and a hydrocarbon phase, and
• a mixture of an aqueous phase, a gaseous phase and a hydrocarbon phase.