PROCESS, METHOD, AND SYSTEM FOR REMOVING MERCURY FROM FLUIDS

摘要

Elemental mercury is removed from a gas by contacting it with a halogen dissolved in an organic solvent. The mercury accumulates in the organic solvent and can be removed by extraction with an aqueous solution with a complexing agent, by adsorption, and by combinations. The absorption process can also operate by use of a series of absorbers which have successively higher concentrations of halogen in the solution and which successively remove more the mercury from the gas. A portion of the solvent in the last absorber can be cascaded to the previous absorber in the series. In one embodiment, the process is carried out at a temperature of absorber at less than or equal to 28°C above the higher of the water dew point and the hydrocarbon dew point. The mercury waste from the process is produced as either an aqueous solution or a small volume of mercuric sulfide.