Patent ID: 8845885
Filing Date: 2014-09-30
Classification: B01F,C10G

Abstract:
1. A method of removing sulfur from sour oil, the method comprising: (a) introducing reactants comprising at least one liquid phase desulfurizing agent, and sour oil having a first sulfur content into a high shear device, wherein the reactants are subjected to high shear, thus producing a high shear treated stream comprising elemental sulfur, ammonium sulfate, or both; wherein the at least one desulfurizing agent is selected from the group consisting of aqueous ammonia, ammonium sulfate, and combinations thereof, and wherein the sour oil comprises one or more sulfur-containing component selected from the group consisting of hydrogen sulfide, organic sulfides, organic disulfides, thiols, and thiophene sulfurs, which is converted to elemental sulfur via the high shear; and (b) separating a sulfur-rich product, a sweetened oil product, and a recycle desulfurizing agent stream from the high shear-treated stream, wherein the sulfur-rich product comprises at least a portion of the elemental sulfur, the ammonium sulfate, or both produced in (a), whereby the sulfur is separated directly from the sweetened oil as elemental sulfur, ammonium sulfate, or both, wherein the sweetened oil product has a second sulfur content that is less than the first sulfur content, and wherein the recycle desulfurizing agent stream comprises at least one recycle component selected from the group consisting of unreacted desulfurizing agent introduced in (a), ammonium sulfate produced in (a), and combinations thereof; and (c) recycling at least a portion of the recycle desulfurizing agent stream to (a).