What is merox unit in refinery?
The merox unit is a proprietary UOP technology that selectively sweetens petroleum products by oxidizing the foul-smelling mercaptans into the sweeter disulfides which remain in the product, leaving the total sulfur content the same.
How does a merox unit work?
Merox is an acronym for mercaptan oxidation. It is a proprietary catalytic chemical process developed by UOP used in oil refineries and natural gas processing plants to remove mercaptans from LPG, propane, butanes, light naphthas, kerosene and jet fuel by converting them to liquid hydrocarbon disulfides.
What is RSH in LPG?
The treatment process, often referred to as sweetening, involves the liquid/liquid extraction of the mercaptans (RSH) in LPG with a caustic solution, which is regenerated by oxidation with air in the presence of a liquid catalyst.
How do you get rid of natural gas mercaptans?
Other methods for mercaptans removal from hydrocarbon streams are available and include oxidation using ozone, biological removal processes, catalytic decomposition, adsorption into solid beds (i.e., functionalized activated carbon) and specialized (e.g., physical and hybrid) solvents.
What is the aim of cracking?
cracking, in petroleum refining, the process by which heavy hydrocarbon molecules are broken up into lighter molecules by means of heat and usually pressure and sometimes catalysts. Cracking is the most important process for the commercial production of gasoline and diesel fuel.
What is hydrodesulfurization process?
Hydrodesulfurization (HDS) is the process that organosulfur compounds are removed over heterogenous catalysts during the refinement of petroleum. Failure to remove sulfur during this process results in the formation of noxious sulfur oxides, which are a major cause of air pollution, upon fuel combustion.
Which is the odorous chemical used in LPG?
Ethyl Mercaptan
Ethyl Mercaptan is what makes propane gas smell. It’s an additive that is combined with liquified petroleum gas, or LPG, to alert users of a leak.
What is mercaptan used for?
It is used as a gas odorant; an intermediate in the production of pesticides, jet fuels, and plastics; and in the synthesis of the amino acid methionine. Because methyl mercaptan is a gas a ambient temperature, the most likely exposure routes are inhalation and dermal.
How do you treat mercaptans?
There are two options for treating mercaptans. In each option, the mercaptans are first oxidized to disulfides. One option, extraction, dissolves the disulfides in caustic and removes them. The other option, sweetening, leaves the converted disulfides in the product.
Where are mercaptans found?
Mercaptans are organic compounds with a distinct odor. Mercaptans are most commonly found in as an emission from paper or pulp mills, and in coal tar and petroleum distillates. Sometimes, mercaptans can be found naturally in food, including onions, asparagus, and radishes.
How are mercaptans prepared?
By itself the -SH group is called a mercapto group. Thiols are usually prepared by using the hydrosulfide anion (-SH) as a neucleophile in an SN2 reaction with alkyl halides.