PURPOSE: To remove volatile mercury compounds from a hydrocarbon by bringing the gaseous hydrocarbon containing the mercury compounds into contact with a catalyst composed of α-alumina, etc., at a temperature within a specified range and decomposing the organomercury, etc., into mercury simple substance easy to remove.
CONSTITUTION: A hydrocarbon 1 containing volatile mercury compounds, e.g. natural gas liquid obtained by removing gas components from natural gas is heated and evaporated at 100 to 400°C by an evaporator 2, allowed to pass through a mist separator 3, then introduced into a catalytic cracking column 5 packed with a catalyst such as α-alumina, γ-alumina, active carbon, graphite, zeolite, silica, silica alumina or activated clay and brought into contact with the catalyst at 100 to 400°C so that various kinds of mercury compounds, especially organomercury compounds may be decomposed into mercury simple substance easy to remove. After cooling by a cooler 6, light gas components are separated by a gas-liquid separator 7 and the hydrocarbon is brought into contact with a mercury-adsorbing material in an adsorption column 8, thus efficiently decomposing and removing the mercury compounds contained in the hydrocarbon.
MORII SABURO
MATSUOKA HIROO
FURUTA AKIO
SATO KUNIO
YAMADA MASATOSHI
SATO KAZUO
MATSUZAWA TORU
| JPH01315489A | 1989-12-20 | |||
| JPH01188586A | 1989-07-27 | |||
| JPH0326790A | 1991-02-05 |