Mercury Removal Equipment

Mercury Removal Equipment

This is a reliable and inexpensive device that removes mercury contained in petroleum products etc.

Damage by mercury

Crude oil, natural gas, shale gas, and condensate contain trace amounts of mercury. Mercury forms an amalgam with aluminum, etc., and may cause corrosion cracks in metal materials.

For example, there are cases of explosions by heat exchanger corrosion in cryogenic separators in Algeria and Indonesia. In Japan, there are also concerns about defects in LPG facilities, corrosion of heat exchangers in ethylene plants, and metal embrittlement in pipe welds. Therefore, it is required to remove mercury properly.

Conventional mercury removal technology

Impurities and gases contain three types of mercury: metallic mercury, ionic mercury, and organic mercury. In conventional method mercury is removed by a inorganic remover supported with sulfur compound or iodine compound or the like, after all type of mercury converted to inorganic. This method requires pretreatment equipment to transform each type of mercury into inorganic mercury, making equipment complex and expensive. There is also the possibility of support materials leak from the remover.

IIH technology’s technology

IH Technology’s mercury removal equipment was developed with the goal of removing three types of mercury without converting them into inorganic mercury and reducing to 1 ppb or less.

Adsorption isotherms of mercury by type

Under the guidance of Professor Hidenori Yahiro, Vice President of Ehime University, this technology uses computational chemistry to discover activated carbon that easily captures to any type of mercury. Based on this activated carbon, we have developed a mercury adsorbent.

IH Technology’s mercury removal equipment does not require a process to convert mercury into inorganic, so the equipment itself is simple, inexpensive, and does not incur operating costs. In addition, using high hardness activated carbon resulted in an epoch-making technology that extends the operating life.

Features of IH mercury removal equipment

・Each type of mercury can be removed to a target of 1 ppb or less without pretreatment.
・Equipment is only a vessel filled with adsorbent. Inexpensive because there is no pretreatment device
・Since utilities such as electricity, steam, and industrial water are not required, operating costs are low.
・Because activated carbon with high hardness is used, there is little crash due to its own weight, and differential pressure does not occur easily.
・The life of the adsorbent is long, and the replacement frequency is very low (the replacement frequency depends on the adsorbent filling amount).

Appearance of mercury removal equipment

Practical realization

The first device started operation in 1996. still in operation
In addition, approximately 10 units are in operation at Japanese refineries

Application of this technology

Mercury removal for LPG, light naphtha, heavy naphtha, and wastewater treatment facilities
Application to mercury removal from natural gas, condensate, and shale gas is under consideration.

Installation procedure

Regarding the introduction of IH technology’s mercury removal equipment, there are cases where new removal equipment is introduced and cases where IH technology’s mercury adsorbent is introduced into existing equipment.

Both are handled by the following procedures.

① Hearing from customers about the properties of the object to be treated, amount to be treated, mercury concentration, removal target, etc.

② Select the most suitable mercury remover by beaker test using the actual object to be treated

③ Verification of performance by liquid flow test using a column filled with the optimum mercury removal agent

④ Designing the actual machine and grasping the operating status using the AI ​​simulation system

⑤ Production of removal agent and filling into actual machine

⑥ Regular performance check after operation

Awards

In 2007, we received the Technical Advancement Award from the Japan Petroleum Institute for the development of equipment for removing mercury contained in naphtha.

In 2010, we received a distinguished service award from the Royal Sultan Qaboos University of Oman for the development of a device for removing mercury contained in oilfield produced water.

Mercury removal equipment and hydrogen sulfide removal equipment were simultaneously certified as “Ehime Prefecture Amazing Techniques (Sugo-Waza)” by Ehime Prefecture in 2019.

Courtesy visit to Oil Minister Rumhi after receiving the Sultan Qaboos University Distinguished Service Award