Deodorization

Safety regulations require that natural gas sold to consumers be injected with odorants. Natural gas itself is a colorless, odorless gas, so odorants are added to ensure that gas leaks are easily detectable. Often, the odorants are organic sulfur compounds such as dimethyl sulfide, methyl ethyl sulfide, isopropyl mercaptan, tert-butyl mercaptan, or tetrahydrathiophene (THT). The exact odorant or mixture of odorants may vary according to the safety regulations of the region where the gas is consumed.

Some applications require that the odorant be removed from the natural gas. For example, if natural gas is to be transferred to a different regulatory region, the odorant may need to be removed before the gas can enter the transmission pipeline. Catalytic processes that use commercial natural gas as a feedstock often require that the odorants be removed to prevent poisoning the catalyst. The odorant is usually present in low concentrations and treating large volumes of gas can be challenging.

SulfaTrap has developed a line of sorbent materials designed to remove odorants from natural gas.

• SulfaTrap^TM-R2G sorbent is specifically formulated to remove THT and other organic sulfur compounds from natural gas and other hydrocarbon streams. It has been shown to reduce the total sulfur concentration of the natural gas to single digit ppbv concentrations.
• SulfaTrap^TM-R6 is a physical adsorbent that can remove a wide range of sulfur compounds, including dimethyl sulfide, methyl ethyl sulfide, propyl and butyl mercaptans, disulfides, and thiophene with very high efficiency.
• SulfaTrap^TM-R7 series sorbents are formulated to remove H₂S and light mercaptans from natural gas both under dry (10-100 ppmv) and wet conditions (fully saturated). These sorbents are often used as a guard to protect the more specialized odorant removal sorbents from other sulfur species in the natural gas.
• SulfaTrap^TM-R8HB sorbent removes large organic sulfur compounds such as high molecular weight mercaptans, thiophenes, alkyl thiophenes and disulfides.

FEATURES

• Inexpensive expendable sorbent materials provide simple, cost-effective operation
• Organic sulfur compounds are strongly adsorbed meaning there will be no odor released when the sorbent is replaced
• The sorbents are non-toxic, non-flammable and non-pyrophoric so they are safe to handle and easy to dispose
• Highly tolerant to air, water vapor and carbon dioxide
• Proprietary formulations enable customized solutions to any natural gas deodorization application

SulfaTrap can supply a custom design or a complete system for natural gas deodorization applications. We currently have deodorization systems installed and operating in North America and Europe. Our systems are built to globally accepted standards and customer specifications. SulfaTrap also provides field services and supervision during installation, commissioning, and sorbent replacement to ensure hassle-free operation.