Abstract:
Trace amount levels of heavy metals such as mercury in crude oil are reduced by contacting the crude oil with a sufficient amount of a reducing agent to convert at least a portion of the non-volatile mercury into a volatile form of mercury, which can be subsequently removed by any of stripping, scrubbing, adsorption, and combinations thereof. In one embodiment, at least 50% of the mercury is removed. In another embodiment, the removal rate is at least 99%. In one embodiment, the reducing agent is selected from sulfur compounds containing at least one sulfur atom having an oxidation state less than +6; ferrous compounds; stannous compounds; oxalates; cuprous compounds; organic acids which decompose to form CO2 and/or H2 upon heating; hydroxylamine compounds; hydrazine compounds; sodium borohydride; diisobutylaluminium hydride; thiourea; transition metal halides; and mixtures thereof.
Abstract:
A process for pyrolysis and drying of an organic material, comprising: pyrolyzing the organic material to generate a coke; combusting the coke in a regenerator to produce a flue gas; cooling the flue gas from the regenerator by mixing the flue gas with an air to produce a cooled flue gas; and channeling the cooled flue gas to a heat exchanger to assist in drying a wet organic material being conveyed on a conveyor belt, wherein the conveyor belt is operably connected to a pyrolysis unit used for the pyrolyzing and the conveyor belt is in thermal communication with the heat exchanger.