Synergized acetals composition and method for scavenging sulfides and mercaptans

Abstract

This invention provides a composition comprising I. at least one reaction product between a nitrogen-free monohydric alcohol and an aldehyde or ketone, and II. at least one reaction product between a monosaccharide having 3 to 6 carbon atoms and/or an oligosaccharide being formed by oligomerization of monosaccharides having 3 to 6 carbon atoms and an aldehyde or ketone, and optionally III. at least one reaction product from III.a) formaldehyde, and III.b) an amine, selected from the group consisting of primary alkyl amines having 1 to 4 carbon atoms, and primary hydroxy alkyl amines having 2 to 4 carbon atoms, and optionally IV. at least one solid suppression agent selected from the group consisting of IV(a). alkali or alkaline earth metal hydroxides IV(b). mono-, di- or tri-hydroxy alkyl, aryl or alkylaryl amines, IV(c). mono-, di- or tri-alkyl, aryl or alkylaryl primary, secondary and tertiary amines or IV(d). multifunctional amines and IV(e). mixtures of compounds of groups IV(a) to IV(c). wherein alkyl is C 1 to C 15 , aryl is C 6 to C 15 and alkylaryl is C 7 to C 15 .

1 . Composition comprising
 I. at least one reaction product between a nitrogen-free monohydric alcohol and an aldehyde or ketone, and   II. at least one reaction product between a monosaccharide having 3 to 6 carbon atoms and/or an oligosaccharide being formed by oligomerization of monosaccharides having 3 to 6 carbon atoms and an aldehyde or ketone having one or two carbon atoms.   
     
     
         2 . Composition according to  claim 1 , further comprising
 III. at least one reaction product from formaldehyde and ammonia and/or an amine, selected from the group consisting of primary alkyl amines having 1 to 10 carbon atoms, and primary hydroxy alkyl amines having 2 to 10 carbon atoms.   
     
     
         3 . Composition according to  claim 1 , further comprising
 IV. at least one inorganic or organic alkaline compound that functions as a solids suppression agent.   
     
     
         4 . Composition according to  claim 1 , wherein the reaction products I. and II. are hemiacetals and/or acetals. 
     
     
         5 . The composition according to  claim 1 , wherein the aldehyde or ketone for the reaction with the monohydric alcohol (I) contains 1 to 10 carbon atoms, preferably 1 to 4 carbon atoms. 
     
     
         6 . The composition according to  claim 1 , wherein the aldehyde or ketone for the reaction with the monohydric alcohol (I) is selected from the group consisting of formaldehyde, paraformaldehyde, glyoxal, acetaldehyde, propionaldehyde, butyraldehyde and glutaraldehyde. 
     
     
         7 . The composition according to  claim 1 , wherein the aldehyde for the reaction with the monosaccharide having 3 to 6 carbon atoms and/or the oligosaccharide being formed by oligomerization of monosaccharides having 3 to 6 carbon atoms (group II) is selected from the group consisting of formaldehyde, paraformaldehyde, acetaldehyde and glyoxal. 
     
     
         8 . The composition according to  claim 1 , wherein the aldehyde or ketone for both components (group I) and (group II) is formaldehyde. 
     
     
         9 . The composition according to  claim 1 , wherein the monohydric alcohol comprises 1 to 15 carbon atoms, preferably 1 to 5 carbon atoms. 
     
     
         10 . The composition according to  claim 1 , wherein the monohydric alcohol is an aliphatic alcohol. 
     
     
         11 . The composition according to  claim 1 , wherein the monohydric alcohol is selected from the group consisting of methanol, ethanol, propanol, iso-propanol, n-butanol, iso-butanol, tert-butanol, pentanol, hexanol, heptanol and octanol, and any mixture thereof. 
     
     
         12 . The composition according to  claim 1 , wherein the monosaccharide having 3 to 6 carbon atoms and/or the oligosaccharide being formed by oligomerization of monosaccharides having 3 to 6 carbon atoms is a monosaccharide having 3 to 6 carbon atoms. 
     
     
         13 . The composition according to  claim 1 , wherein the monosaccharide is a linear polyhydroxycarbonyl compound having the general formula (1)
   C n (H 2 O) n    (1)
   wherein n is an integer between 3 and 6.   
     
     
         14 . The composition according to  claim 13  wherein n is between 4 and 6. 
     
     
         15 . The composition according to  claim 14  wherein n is 5 or 6. 
     
     
         16 . The composition according to  claim 1 , wherein the monosaccharide is a polyhydroxyaldehyde of formula (2)
   CHO—(CH—OH) m —CH 2 OH   (2)
   wherein m is 1,2,3 or 4.   
     
     
         17 . The composition according to  claim 1 , wherein the monosaccharide is a polyhydroxyketone of formula (3)
   HO—CH 2 —C(═O)—(CH—OH) p —CH 2 OH   (3)
   wherein p is 0, 1, 2 or 3.   
     
     
         18 . The composition according to  claim 16 , wherein the monosaccharide is a mixture of open-chain and cyclic form of the polyhydroxyaldehyde of formula (2) respectively the polyhydroxyketone according to formula (3). 
     
     
         19 . The composition according to  claim 1 , wherein the monosaccharide is selected from the group consisting of glucose, mannose, galactose, ribose, arabinose, xylose and fructose. 
     
     
         20 . The composition according to  claim 1 , wherein the monosaccharide having 3 to 6 carbon atoms and/or the oligosaccharide being formed by oligomerization of monosaccharides having 3 to 6 carbon atoms is an oligosaccharide being formed by oligomerization of monosaccharides having 3 to 6 carbon atoms. 
     
     
         21 . The composition according to  claim 1 , wherein the oligosaccharide being formed by oligomerization of monosaccharides having 3 to 6 carbon atoms is a disaccharide being formed by dimerization of monosaccharides having 3 to 6 carbon atoms. 
     
     
         22 . The composition according to  claim 21  wherein the disaccharide formed by oligomerization of monosaccharides having 3 to 6 carbon atoms has the general formula (4)
   C y (H 2 O) y-1    (4)
 
 wherein y is 10, 11 or 12. 
 
     
     
         23 . The composition according to  claim 21  wherein the disaccharide is formed from aldoses and/or ketoses having 5 or 6 carbon atoms which are linked by a glycosidic linkage. 
     
     
         24 . The composition according to  claim 20 , wherein the oligosaccharide being formed by oligomerization of monosaccharides having 3 to 6 carbon atoms is selected from maltose, Isomaltose, cellobiose, trehalose, sucrose, isomaltulose, trehalulose, lactose, lactulose and raffinose. 
     
     
         25 . The composition according to  claim 2 , wherein the reaction product III of an amine and formaldehyde corresponds to formula (7a) 
       
         
           
           
               
               
           
         
         wherein 
         R is H or methyl, and 
         n is 1 or 2. 
       
     
     
         26 . The composition according to  claim 2 , wherein the reaction product III of an amine and formaldehyde corresponds to the formula (7b) 
       
         
           
           
               
               
           
         
         wherein each R 1  is C 1  to C 4  alkyl or C 2  to C 4  hydroxy alkyl. 
       
     
     
         27 . The composition according to  claim 25 , wherein the compound of formula 7a is 3,3′-methylenebis-5-methyl-oxazolidine. 
     
     
         28 . The composition according to  claim 2 , wherein the reaction product III of an amine and formaldehyde is present in the composition in an amount from 1 wt.- % to 20 wt.- %, preferably between 5 wt.- % and 15 wt.- %. 
     
     
         29 . Composition according to  claim 3 , wherein the alkaline compound IV. is selected from the group consisting of
 IV(a). alkaline metal salts or alkaline earth metal salts   IV(b). ammonia; alkyl amines, aryl amines or alkylaryl amines   IV(c). hydroxy alkyl amines, hydroxy aryl amines or hydroxy alkylaryl amines   IV(d). multifunctional amines containing besides an amino group, at least one further functional group selected from the group consisting of amino groups, ether groups and acid groups or an ester, amide or salt thereof   IV(e). mixtures of compounds of groups IV(a) to IV(c),   wherein “alkyl” means C 1  to C 20  alkyl, “aryl” means C 6  to C 20  aryl and “alkylaryl” means C 7  to C 20  alkylaryl.   
     
     
         30 . Composition according to  claim 1 , comprising 1 to 60 wt.- % of the reaction product between a monohydric alcohol and an aldehyde or ketone, preferably between 5 and 50 wt.- %. 
     
     
         31 . Composition according to  claim 1 , comprising 1 to 95 wt.- % of the reaction product between a monosaccharide having 3 to 6 carbon atoms and/or an oligosaccharide being formed by oligomerization of monosaccharides having 3 to 6 carbon atoms and an aldehyde or ketone, preferably between 20 and 75 wt.- %. 
     
     
         32 . Composition according to  claim 1 , wherein the molar ratio between the reaction product between a monohydric alcohol and an aldehyde or ketone (group I) and the reaction product between a monosaccharide having 3 to 6 carbon atoms and/or an oligosaccharide being formed by oligomerization of monosaccharides having 3 to 6 carbon atoms and an aldehyde having one or two carbon atoms (group II) is between 20:1 and 1:20, more preferably between 5:1 and 1:5. 
     
     
         33 . Composition according to  claim 2 , wherein the weight ratio between the combined reaction products of groups I and group II on the one hand side and the synergist (group III) on the other hand side is between 1000:1 and 5:1. 
     
     
         34 . Composition according to  claim 3 , comprising 0.1 to 15 wt.- %, preferably 0.5 to 10 wt.- % of at least one solids suppression agent (group IV). 
     
     
         35 . The composition according to one  claim 1 , further comprising an alkyl dimethyl benzyl ammonium chloride according to formula (10) in an amount between 0,01 and 5 wt.- %, preferably between 0,5 and 2 wt.- % 
       
         
           
           
               
               
           
         
         wherein R 9  is C 8  to C 18  alkyl. 
       
     
     
         36 . The composition according to  claim 1 , further comprising a demulsifier in an amount between 0.1 to 10 wt.- %, preferably between 0.5 and 2 wt.- %. 
     
     
         37 . The composition according to  claim 36 , wherein the demulsifier is selected from the group consisting of polysorbates, fatty alcohols, polymers comprising ethylene oxide, polymers comprising propylene oxide, ethylene oxide-propylene oxide copolymers, alkyl polyglucosides, alkylphenol ethoxylates, alkyl polyethylene oxide, alkylbenzenesulfonic acid and ethoxylated and/or propoxylated alkyl phenol-formaldehyde resins. 
     
     
         38 . The composition according to  claim 36 , wherein the demulsifier corresponds to the formula (8) 
       
         
           
           
               
               
           
         
         wherein 
         R 10  is C 2  to C 4  alkylene, 
         R 11  is C 1  to C 18  alkyl, 
         k is a number from 1 to 200, 
         m is a number from 1 to 100. 
       
     
     
         39 . Composition according to  claim 36 , wherein the demulsifier is dodecylbenezesulfonic acid (9) 
       
         
           
           
               
               
           
         
       
     
     
         40 . Composition according to  claim 36 , wherein the demulsifier is a mixture of at least one compound of formula (8) and at least one compound of formula (9) in a weight ratio of from 5:1 to 1:5, preferably in a weight ratio of from 3:1 to 1:3. 
     
     
         41 . Formulation, comprising 10 to 99 wt.- % of a composition according to  claim 1 , and 1 to 90 wt.- % of a solvent selected from the group consisting of water, methanol, ethanol, propan-1-ol, propan-2-ol, ethylene glycol, diethylene glycol, triethylene glycol, neopentyl glycol, 2-butoxyethanol, glycerol and their mixtures, most preferably water. 
     
     
         42 . Use of a composition or formulation according to  claim 1  for scavenging hydrogen sulphide and/or mercaptans. 
     
     
         43 . Use according to  claim 42 , wherein the scavenging occurs from fluids or gases produced from subterranean formations. 
     
     
         44 . Use according to  claim 42 , wherein the scavenging from gas is conducted in a contact tower or by direct injection into the gas. 
     
     
         45 . Process for the scavenging of hydrogen sulphide and/or mercaptans, comprising adding to a medium comprising such hydrogen sulphide or mercaptans a composition or formulation according to  claim 1 . 
     
     
         46 . Use of a reaction product from formaldehyde, and ammonia and/or an amine, selected from the group consisting of primary alkyl amines having 1 to 10 carbon atoms, and primary hydroxy alkyl amines having 2 to 10 carbon atoms,
 as a synergist in the reaction between hydrogen sulphide and/or mercaptans and a composition comprising
 I. at least one reaction product between a nitrogen-free monohydric alcohol and an aldehyde or ketone, and 
 II. at least one reaction product between a monosaccharide having 3 to 6 carbon atoms and/or an oligosaccharide being formed by oligomerization of monosaccharides having 3 to 6 carbon atoms and an aldehyde or ketone. 
   
     
     
         47 . Use of an alkaline compound selected from the group consisting of
 IV(a). alkaline metal salts or alkaline earth metal salts   IV(b). ammonia; alkyl amines, aryl amines or alkylaryl amines   IV(c). hydroxy alkyl amines, hydroxy aryl amines or hydroxy alkylaryl amines   IV(d). multifunctional amines containing besides an amino group, at least one further functional group selected from the group consisting of amino groups, ether groups and acid groups or an ester, amide or salt thereof   IV(e). mixtures of compounds of groups IV(a) to IV(c)   as a synergist in the reaction between between hydrogen sulphide and/or mercaptans and a composition comprising
 I. at least one reaction product between a nitrogen-free monohydric alcohol and an aldehyde or ketone, and 
 II. at least one reaction product between a monosaccharide having 3 to 6 carbon atoms and/or an oligosaccharide being formed by oligomerization of monosaccharides having 3 to 6 carbon atoms and an aldehyde or ketone.