The global crude slate has changed rapidly in the last decade, as production areas such as the oil sands in Alberta and other shale oil formations throughout North America have developed. Throughout the world, more exploration opportunities and advanced recovery technologies have resulted in order to access crudes that weren’t attainable in the past. Many of these crudes contain contaminants that can cause multiple corrosion issues during downstream processing. Catalyst poisoning and metallurgical issues result in millions of dollars in repairs and downtime, and health/safety issues for personnel in the refinery and in surrounding areas are also a concern. Two of the main contaminants present in crudes around the world are mercury (Hg) and sulfur (S), depending on the location and formation. UOP is at the forefront of developing advanced alumina adsorbents solutions for removal of mercury and other contaminants such as sulfur, chlorides, fluorides and oxygenates from refinery process streams. The UOP series of GB-300 adsorbents provide a range of removal capacities to fit refineries’ mercury removal needs. The latest commercial products (UOP GB-347 and GB-547) are able to provide long bed life with higher inlet concentrations of mercury than previous UOP adsorbent products Other contaminants found throughout the world’s crudes are sulfur compounds. Whether it is H2S, COS, DMDS or other species, sulfur contaminants are detrimental to catalyst performance and contribute to equipment failures and health/safety issues if left in the system. UOP has multiple adsorbent solutions for refiners experiencing various types of sulfur contamination as well as varied refinery schemes. With refineries aiming for higher profits and tighter environmental controls, adsorbents are playing a bigger part in keeping operations running smoothly, reducing costly shutdowns and keeping employees and the environment safe.