Claims
- 1. A method of transferring metals and/or amines from a hydrocarbon phase to a water phase comprising:
adding to an emulsion of hydrocarbon and water, an effective amount of a composition to transfer metals and/or amines from a hydrocarbon phase to a water phase comprising at least one water-soluble hydroxyacid selected from the group consisting of glycolic acid, gluconic acid, C2-C4 alpha-hydroxy acids, poly-hydroxy carboxylic acids, thioglycolic acid, chloroacetic acid, polymeric forms of the above hydroxyacids, poly-glycolic esters, glycolate ethers, and ammonium salt and alkali metal salts of these hydroxyacids, and mixtures thereof; and resolving the emulsion into hydrocarbon phase and an aqueous phase, where at least a portion of the metals and/or amines are transferred to the aqueous phase.
- 2. The method of claim 1 where in the adding of the composition, the composition additionally comprises a mineral acid.
- 3. The method of claim 2 where in the adding of the composition, the composition further comprises
down to about 1 wt. % water-soluble hydroxyacid; and up to about 20 wt. % mineral acid.
- 4. The method of claim 2 where the method is practiced in a refinery desalting process and further comprises washing the emulsion with wash water and the amount of mineral acid is sufficient to lower the pH of the wash water to 6 or below.
- 5. The method of claim 1 where in the adding of the composition, the water-soluble hydroxyacid is present in the emulsion in an amount ranging from about 1 to about 2000 ppm.
- 6. The method of claim 1 where in the adding of the composition, the composition further comprises water or alcohol solvent.
- 7. A method of transferring metals and/or amines from a hydrocarbon phase to a water phase comprising:
adding to an emulsion of hydrocarbon and water, an effective amount of a composition to transfer metals and/or amines from a hydrocarbon phase to a water phase comprising at least one water-soluble hydroxyacid selected from the group consisting of glycolic acid, gluconic acid, C2-C4 alpha-hydroxy acids, poly-hydroxy carboxylic acids, thioglycolic acid, chloroacetic acid, polymeric forms of the above hydroxyacids, poly-glycolic esters, glycolate ethers, and ammonium salt and alkali metal salts of these hydroxyacids, and mixtures thereof, where the water-soluble hydroxyacid comprises from about 1 to about 100 wt. % of the composition and the composition further comprises a water or alcohol solvent; and resolving the emulsion into hydrocarbon phase and an aqueous phase, where at least a portion of the metals and/or amines are transferred to the aqueous phase.
- 8. The method of claim 2 where the method is practiced in a refinery desalting process and further comprises washing the emulsion with wash water and the amount of mineral acid is sufficient to lower the pH of the wash water to 6 or below.
- 9. A composition for transferring metals and/or amines from a hydrocarbon phase to a water phase comprising:
a water-soluble hydroxyacid selected from the group consisting of glycolic acid, gluconic acid, C2-C4 alpha-hydroxy acids, poly-hydroxy carboxylic acids, thioglycolic acid, chloroacetic acid, polymeric forms of the above hydroxyacids, poly-glycolic esters, glycolate ethers, and ammonium salt and alkali metal salts of these hydroxyacids, and mixtures thereof; and a mineral acid.
- 10. The composition of claim 9 where the composition additionally comprises at least one additional component selected from the group consisting of a water or alcohol solvent, a corrosion inhibitor, a demulsifier, a scale inhibitor, metal chelants, wetting agents and mixtures thereof.
- 11. The composition of claim 9 where the composition further comprises:
down to about 1 wt. % water-soluble hydroxyacid; and up to about 20 wt. % mineral acid.
- 12. A composition for transferring metals and/or amines from a hydrocarbon phase to a water phase comprising:
a water-soluble hydroxyacid selected from the group consisting of glycolic acid, gluconic acid, C2-C4 alpha-hydroxy acids, poly-hydroxy carboxylic acids, thioglycolic acid, chloroacetic acid, polymeric forms of the above hydroxyacids, poly-glycolic esters, glycolate ethers, and ammonium salt and alkali metal salts of these hydroxyacids, and mixtures thereof; and at least one additional component selected from the group consisting of a water or alcohol solvent, a corrosion inhibitor, a demulsifier, a scale inhibitor, metal chelants, wetting agents and mixtures thereof.
- 13. The composition of claim 12 where the water-soluble hydroxyacid comprises from about 1 to about 85 wt % of the composition.
- 14. A treated hydrocarbon emulsion comprising:
hydrocarbon; water; and a composition for transferring metals and/or amines from a hydrocarbon phase to a water phase comprising a water-soluble hydroxyacid selected from the group consisting of glycolic acid, gluconic acid, C2-C4 alpha-hydroxy acids, poly-hydroxy carboxylic acids, thioglycolic acid, chloroacetic acid, polymeric forms of the above hydroxyacids, polyglycolic esters, glycolate ethers, and ammonium salt and alkali metal salts of these hydroxyacids, and mixtures thereof.
- 15. The treated hydrocarbon emulsion of claim 14 where the composition further comprises a mineral acid.
- 16. The treated hydrocarbon emulsion of claim 15 where the composition further comprises.
down to about 1 wt. % water-soluble hydroxyacid; and up to about 20 wt. % mineral acid.
- 17. The treated hydrocarbon emulsion of claim 15 further comprising wash water and where the amount of mineral acid is sufficient to lower the pH of the wash water to 6 or below.
- 18. The treated hydrocarbon emulsion of claim 14 where the water-soluble hydroxyacid is present in the emulsion in an amount ranging from about 1 to about 2000 ppm.
- 19. The treated hydrocarbon emulsion of claim 14 where the composition further comprises at least one additional component selected from the group consisting of a water or alcohol solvent, a corrosion inhibitor, a demulsifier, a scale inhibitor, metal chelants, wetting agents and mixtures thereof.
- 20. The treated hydrocarbon emulsion of claim 14 where the hydrocarbon component contains more than 10 ppm iron or calcium.
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION
[0001] This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 60/407,139 filed Aug. 30, 2002.
Provisional Applications (1)
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Number |
Date |
Country |
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60407139 |
Aug 2002 |
US |