Patent ID: 9523043
Filing Date: 2016-12-20
CPC Classification: C10G

Claim Text:
1. A process for reducing mercury content from a crude distillation unit comprising a distillation column and an overhead condenser, the process comprising: fractionally distilling a crude product containing at least 50 ppbw mercury to form overhead vapor fractions comprising light naphtha having a first concentration of mercury; adding a sufficient amount of at least one of an ammonium hydroxide and an amine to the overhead fractions for a pH level of at least 7; contacting the overhead vapor fractions with a complexing agent to convert at least a portion of the mercury into water soluble mercury in solution, for a light naphtha product having a reduced concentration of mercury; and removing the solution containing water soluble mercury from the crude distillation unit; recovering the light naphtha product from an upper section of the distillation column.