Membrane
Systems
January 2001
KCC Process Equipment
London - Abu Dhabi - Houston
www.kccprocess.com
Key Benefits
No chemical inventory or
1 make-up required
Low pressure drop through
2 the process
Easy installation and removal
3 of internals for cleaning or
replacement
Low maintenance - ideal for
4 unmanned plants or facilities
Excellent turn-down / turn-up
5 performance
Compact and light weight for
6 offshore applications
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Product Data Sheet
The PRISM Range
of Membrane Gas
Treatment Systems
Background
KCC is a leading, international supplier
of process equipment and packaged
plants to the oil, gas and petrochemical
industries.
Membrane Development
To maintain a leading technical position
in gas processing, KCC has acquired a
license for the supply of Membrane Gas
Treatment Systems from Air Products
Inc.
Typical Installation
Our membrane elements are marketed
under the Air Products PRISM trade PRISM
name for a range of treatments:
H2 O Removal Dehydration down to
High Efficiency Gas
pipeline specification. Separation
CO2 Removal Effective bulk Carbon
Dioxide removal.
Summary
Developed specifically for the
H2 S Removal Hydrogen Sulphide separation of contaminants from
levels reduced by 95+%. hydrocarbons in natural gas, PRISM
membranes use the relative permeation
H2 Recovery Hydrogen can be
rates exhibited by all gases to achieve
recovered for refinery applications.
selective removal of the undesirable
components.
FEED PRISM membranes comprise a
PRESSURE VESSEL
bundle of hollow fibres. The feed gas
enters the vessel at one end and flows
PERMEATE SWEEP
along the outside of the fibres to the
GAS
product exit at the other end. The
HOLLOW FIBER
MEMBRANE
PRODUCT
contaminants pass through the fibre
walls into the cores, where they can be
Continued on Page 2
collected and discharged as permeate
through a low pressure connection.
Gas Diffusion Rates
Every gas has a characteristic
permeation rate that is a function of its
ability to dissolve in, diffuse through,
and dissolve out of the hollow fibre
membrane.
CH4 CO2
C2 + H2 S
Slow Medium
PRISM separators use these relative
permeation rates to selectively separate
a fast gas such as water vapour, from
the slow gas components such as
Methane. Rates for some common
gases are shown in the table above.
How it works
Pre-treatment Conditioning
The Air Products PRISM membrane
is different from other competing
brands in that it is more tolerant of
particulate dusts and contaminants,
including water. This means no pre-
drying of the gas is required.
A typical pre-treatment system includes
high efficiency gas/liquid separation to
remove bulk liquids or slugs, followed
H2 O by heating above the dew point to
H2 ensure no liquids condense out inside
the membrane when the pressure
Fast
changes. In some applications, water
vapour can be added to the gas to
improve separation.
Finally, a polishing filter-coalescer
removes all traces of liquid mist.
Permeate
A by-product of the treated gas is a side
stream of permeate which has passed
through the membrane walls containing
the contaminant gases plus a small
amount of natural gas. This permeate
stream can be flared, recovered or
further treated.
In dehydration systems it can be
condensed and recycled, and in other
sweetening systems it can be used as
fuel gas or recovered through
compressors.
In some cases the membrane efficiency
can be boosted by using sweep gas to
lower the partial pressure of the
contaminant in the permeate.
Product Gas
The PRISM membrane system is
designed to achieve the desired product
gas specification, and the wide
performance envelope means that
flexibility is built into the system for
changes in feed gas flowrate, pressure,
temperature and composition.

Pressure loss is typically less than 1 bar

Elec.
through the entire system, and loss of
Natural
Gas
To Membrane
Unit product into the permeate is below 5%.
Heater
H1

K4 K3
Humidifier
E1 Long Service Life
Pretreatment Suction Scrubbers Heater
H2 Provided the equipment is maintained at
Skid
the recommended intervals, PRISM
membranes give a service life of many
Membrane SP PMP Skid
years.
Unit Membrane
Vessel

From
K2 Applications
Pretreatment
Skid Coaleser Common applications for PRISM
K1 SP FCV

Product
membrane systems include:
FCV PCV

Fuel Gas Treatment

Sweep Gas FT SP
Drain Tank
Heater H3

Permeate to
R1
LP Vent CO2 Recovery and Injection

All in One Treatment

Typical flow scheme for membranes in natural gas service, showing pre-
treatment separation and heating, followed by final coalescing before the KCC Process Equipment
membrane itself. London - Abu Dhabi - Houston
www.kccprocess.com

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