JGC Technology Forum 2019

Mercury Removal
Presentation Title
Solutions
(Front Cover ver.1)
for Your Liquid Hydrocarbon

Technology Innovation Center

Mikiko Kuramoto

© 2019 JGC Corporation

 Outline

 Situation for mercury in petroleum refinery

 JGCʼs solutions for removing mercury

 Process selection based on high-level analysis
 Various process for various mercury
 Life-cycle support from planning to operation

Copyright 2019 JGC All Rights Reserved

 Summary
2
© 2019 JGC Corporation
 Mercury occurrence
Global average of
mercury concentration
（based well number）
Eurasia > 100 ppb 13 wells
50-100 ppb 6 wells
North
15-50 ppb 33 wells
America
5-15 ppb 42 wells
SE Asia, 2-5 ppb 68 wells
Middle Australia
East

South Africa
America
< 2 ppb 284 wells
64％

Copyright 2019 JGC All Rights Reserved

Source: Shaofeng Wang et al.,
Atmospheric Environment, 39, 2005, 7459- Ref.: “Mercury management in
petroleum refining”, IPIECA,
2014

Crude oil at Asia is concerned about mercury contamination 3

© 2019 JGC Corporation
 Troubles by mercury contamination
Damage to piping material
Explosion accident at Moomba gas plant
(Australia, 2004)
• Rapture of H/E inlet pipe
by liquid metal embrittlement (LME)
(Erosion of aluminum alloy
by metal mercury stacked at piping bottom)

Specification (Natural gas) : < 0.01 μg/Nm3-Hg

Website, HRL Technology , 24 January 2017

Catalyst contamination
Poisoning to active metal of catalyst

Copyright 2019 JGC All Rights Reserved

• Performance decrement of reformer etc.
Specification (Naphtha) : < 1 wtppb-Hg

Mercury removal is important to stably operate plant 4

© 2019 JGC Corporation
 Where shall mercury be removed ?
Lower-mercury condensate
LPG

 Light naphtha

Heavy naphtha
Wellhead
Lower-mercury Kerosene, Diesel,
Heavy oil, Residue
Topper
Upstream side Downstream side
MRU
MRU
LPG

Light naphtha
Wellhead

Copyright 2019 JGC All Rights Reserved

Higher-mercury Heavy naphtha

Kerosene, Diesel,
Wellhead Heavy oil, Residue
Higher-mercury Topper 5
Higher-mercury condensate
© 2019 JGC Corporation (MRU: Mercury Removal Unit)
 JGCʼs solution and service

JGC group is One-stop Service Provider for mercury removal

Client

Inquiry Total Service

One-stop Service

Planning Installation Operation

Analysis
Service / Catalyst Operational

Copyright 2019 JGC All Rights Reserved

Licensing EPC Optimization
Process Supply
selection
6
© 2019 JGC Corporation
 Mercury analysis

Mercury type
Difficulty
Compounds
to remove
Elemental Mercury Hg easy
CH3HgCl
Ionic Mercury RS-Hg-SR’ difficult
HgCl2
(CH3)2Hg
(C2H5)2Hg
Organic Mercury (C3H7)2Hg difficult
(C4H9)2Hg

Copyright 2019 JGC All Rights Reserved

(Ph)2Hg

JGC selects an optimum process

7
based on advanced analysis technology
© 2019 JGC Corporation
 Process A: Adsorption
Feed Containing elemental mercury

Feature Simplest process

Adsorbents

MR-3 MR-21

Copyright 2019 JGC All Rights Reserved

Adsorber information
Adsorbent: MR-3 or MR-21 Aluminum oxide type Activated carbon type
Temp. : lower than 60 deg-C
8
© 2019 JGC Corporation
 Limitation of Adsorption

1,000 Organic((C2H5)2Hg)
Adsorbent : MR-3
Temp.: Room Temp.
100 Feed: n-Hexane
Hg Conc. (ppb)

10 Leaked

Generally in
1
Successfully  Crude oil
Target
removed  Condensate
0.1

Copyright 2019 JGC All Rights Reserved

0 Residence Time
Adsorber outlet

Ionic and organic mercury cannot be removed by adsorption 9

© 2019 JGC Corporation
 Process B: Decomposition + Adsorption

Feed Containing ionic and/or organic mercury

Feature  Catalytic decomposition

 High conversion (>99.9%)
at lower temp. compared with
thermal reaction

>99.9%

Decomposition
Hg compound: (C2H5)2Hg

Copyright 2019 JGC All Rights Reserved

Reactor information Feed: Condensate
Catalyst: MR-14 Press. : 4 MPaG (Liquid phase)
Temp. : lower than 200 deg-C
H2 : not required
10
© 2019 JGC Corporation
 Adsorption inhibition

Inlet Adsorbent Bed Outlet

Adsorption breakthrough curves under

Concentration

: normal condition
Mercury

: inhibition condition

Generally in
Leakage of mercury  Crude oil
 Condensate

Copyright 2019 JGC All Rights Reserved

Distance from Bed Inlet

Adsorption performance decreases by inhibitor 11

© 2019 JGC Corporation
 Process C: Decomposition+Stripping +Adsorption

Liquid Gas
Reactor Adsorber Adsorber Feed
Containing ionic and/or organic
mercury and adsorption inhibitor

Feed
Feature
Gas  Widely applicable
Liquid
Stripper Poisons
Inhibitor  All type of mercury can be treated
Stripping Product
 Untreatable hydrocarbon
by conventional technology

Copyright 2019 JGC All Rights Reserved

Stripper information can be treated directly
Column: random packing
Temp. : around 100degC
Press. : less than 100 kPaG
12
© 2019 JGC Corporation
 JGCʼs process
Inhibiting of
Adsorption
Type of
Free Containing
Mercury Species

Process-A Process-C
Adsorption Decomposition
+ Stripping
Elemental only + Adsorption

Process-B
Decomposition
Elemental + Adsorption
+ Ionic (Organic)

Copyright 2019 JGC All Rights Reserved

 Any type of mercury can be removed by selecting the suitable process. 13
 Product mercury concentration is down to 1 wtppb level.
© 2019 JGC Corporation
 Commercial experience
Capacity
Location Start-up Process Feed Service
(ton/h)
1 Europe 1990 A 10 LPG Alkylation
2 E. Asia 1991 A 150 HN C2
3 E. Asia 1993 A 50 NGL C2
4 E. Asia 1999 A 21 LN/HN C2&Aroma
5 S.E. Asia 2000 B 67 LN/HN C2&Aroma
6 S.E. Asia 2000 A 36 LN C2
7 E. Asia 2002 A 14 LPG Fuel
8 E. Asia 2002 A 19 LN C2
9 E. Asia 2003 C 89 Crude well-head
10 E. Asia 2003 A 4 LPG Fuel
11 E. Asia 2003 A 70 LN C2
12 Mid. East 2004 B 40 LN/HN C2&Aroma
13 S.E. Asia 2007 A 13 LPG Fuel

Copyright 2019 JGC All Rights Reserved

14 S.E. Asia 2007 A 8 LPG Fuel
15 E. Asia 2008 C 89 Crude well-head
16 E. Asia 2012 A 89 NGL well-head
17 S.E. Asia 2013 A 170 ? HN Aroma
14
© 2019 JGC Corporation
 JGCʼs solutions for mercury removal

 The most optimum process can be proposed

based on high-level analysis.

 JGCʼs processes can treat ALL types of mercury

lower than 1 wtppb.

 We provide life-cycle support from planning to

operation.

Copyright 2019 JGC All Rights Reserved

JGC group is One-stop Service Provider
for Hg removal 15
© 2019 JGC Corporation