Process, method, and system for removing mercury from fluids
US9023123B2 · kind B2 · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | May 16, 2013 |
| Grant date | May 5, 2015 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Nov 20, 2033 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC E)Fixed Constructions
- CPC primaryE21B43/40
- WIPO fieldCivil engineering
- WIPO sectorOther fields
Abstract
Trace levels of mercury in a natural gas are reduced by scrubbing the natural gas in an absorber with an aqueous solution comprising a water-soluble sulfur compound. The water-soluble sulfur compound reacts with a least a portion of the mercury in the natural gas to produce a treated natural gas with a reduced concentration of mercury, and a mercury containing sulfur-depleted solution which can be disposed by injection into a (depleted) underground formation. The produced water extracted with the natural gas from the underground formation can be recycled for use as the scrubbing solution. In one embodiment, a fresh source of water-soluble sulfur compound as feed to the absorber can be generated on-site by reacting an elemental sulfur source with a sulfur reagent in produced water.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.