Separation of hydrogen sulfide from natural gas (ExxonMobil)

CATEGORY: NATURAL GAS
Separation of hydrogen sulfide from natural gas (ExxonMobil)

Type	Patent
Inventor	Pavel Kortunov
Inventor	Michael Siskin
URL	Free Full Text Source: http://www.google.com/patents/US20150027055
Assignee	Exxonmobil Research And Engineering Company
Patent Number	US20150027055 A1
Issue Date	Jan 29, 2015
Abstract	A process for increasing the selectivity of an alkanolamine absorption process for selectively removing hydrogen sulfide (H2S) from a gas mixture which also contains carbon dioxide (CO2) and possibly other acidic gases such as COS, HCN, CS2 and sulfur derivatives of C1 to C4 hydrocarbons, comprises contacting the gas mixture with a liquid absorbent which is a severely sterically hindered capped alkanolamine or more basic sterically hindered secondary and tertiary amine. The improvement in selectivity is achieved at the high(er) pressures, typically least about 10 bara at conditions nearing the H2S/CO2 equilibrium at which CO2 begins to displace absorbed hydrosulfide species from the absorbent solution.