Mercury in the Petrochemical Industry

Knowledge of the mercury content in oil, gas and petrochemicals is extremely important. Not only is mercury highly toxic and of great environmental concern, but also damage it can cause to plant equipment can lead to costly unscheduled shutdowns.

Even at low concentrations mercury may condense and accumulate in cryogenic aluminium heat exchangers due to the low temperatures and high pressures encountered. Under certain conditions of operation, liquid mercury may cause corrosion or liquid metal embrittlement resulting in a failure of the cold box.

Heat exchanger replacement is a costly operation and more importantly enforced shutdowns incur large revenue losses. Mercury is also known to cause de-activation of hydrogenation catalysts used in the petrochemical industry. Mercury removal technologies must be employed and their efficiency monitored.

P S Analytical (UK) offers a wide range of services and Hg monitoring equipment for the oil, gas and petrochemical industry. Online and laboratory systems are routinely tailored to meet the specified monitoring levels, legislatory and site-specific requirements of each customer.