Use of solvent to decrease caustic scrubber fouling (Total)

Use of solvent to decrease caustic scrubber fouling (Total)

Type	Patent
Inventor	Jean-Pierre Thoret Bauchet
URL	Free Full Text Source:  http://www.google.com/patents/US8722954
Assignee	Total Research & Technology Feluy
Patent Number	US8722954 B2
Issue Date	May 13, 2014
Abstract	The present invention is a method of reducing the formation of fouling deposits occurring in a caustic scrubber used to remove acid gases comprising: a) providing a caustic scrubber fed with an alkaline aqueous solution comprising essentially one or more of NaOH, KOH or LiOH, b) providing an olefin-containing hydrocarbon stream, contaminated with oxygenated compounds and acid gases, and said oxygenated compounds are capable to make polymeric fouling deposits in the presence of the alkaline solution of the scrubber, c) sending the above hydrocarbon stream to the caustic scrubber to recover an olefin-containing hydrocarbon stream essentially free of acid gases, wherein, d) an efficient amount of a solvent capable to reduce the formation of fouling deposits is introduced in the caustic scrubber and/or in the alkaline solution fed to the scrubber, e) the liquid outlet of the scrubber is sent to means to separate the solvent from the alkaline solution, and wherein the caustic scrubber has several stages with various caustic concentrations, and wherein the solvent injection and removal can be located at each stage.