A process for removing sulfur compounds from hydrocarbon streams

摘要

A process for removing H2S and mercaptans from a hydrocarbon stream is disclosed. A hydrocarbon stream such as a LPG stream is contacted with a weakly basic stream, e.g., a sodium bicarbonate stream in order to extract the H2S and mercaptans from the hydrocarbon stream into the basic stream. The basic stream is now treated in a reactor containing a sulfide oxidizing microorganism in order to convert the H2S to sulfur and the mercaptans to disulfides. Finally, the sulfur and disulfides are separated from the basic aqueous stream which can be recycled and used to treat a fresh hydrocarbon stream. The treated hydrocarbon stream is purified to the point that it passes the copper strip test, while the purified basic stream contains less than 0.08 g/l of elemental sulfur. <IMAGE>