Improved H{sub 2}S caustic scrubber
- T.J. Cross Engineers, Inc., Bakersfield, CA (United States)
- Tidelands Oil Production Co., Long Beach, CA (United States)
An improved design reduced the operating expense of an H{sub 2}S Caustic Scrubber by over 75%. The scrubber removes approximately 1,300 lb/day H{sub 2}S from 1800 MSCFD of produced gas containing 8,000 ppm H{sub 2}S with mercaptans and 40% CO{sub 2}. The scrubber is based on Dow Chemical`s US Patent No. 2,747,962. The Dow H{sub 2}S Caustic Scrubber principle is based on contacting gas with dilute caustic (5--20% NaOH) then separating the gas from the liquid. H{sub 2}S reacts with the NaOH to produce NaHS, a water soluble salt that can be disposed of in an oilfield waterflood injection or waste water disposal well. Unfortunately, CO{sub 2} also reacts with NaOH to produce Na{sub 2}CO{sub 3}, thereby increasing caustic consumption. Caustic contact time is kept between 0.01 and 0.03 seconds in order to maximize H{sub 2}S removal while minimizing CO{sub 2} removal. Approximately 80--90% of the H{sub 2}S can be removed per stage while removing only 1% of the CO{sub 2}. Improvements to the H{sub 2}S Caustic Scrubber comprise: Redesigning the H{sub 2}S-Caustic contactor; Reducing the dilute caustic concentration; and Optimizing the number of scrubber stages required by polishing with SulfaTreat{reg_sign}.
- OSTI ID:
- 460717
- Report Number(s):
- CONF-970146--; ISBN 1-890277-01-0
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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