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Faculty of

Chemical and
Energy
Engineering
(FCEE)

SKKC4723
Refinery and Petrochemical Technology
2018/2019-SEM 1

TEAM ASSIGNMENT
GAS PROCESSING PLANT

DATE OF SUBMISSION
13TH NOVEMBER 2016

LAB INSTRUCTOR
IR. DR. ZAKI YAMANI BIN ZAKARIA

GROUP: TAPIS
Table 1: Composition of Natural Gas
Component Mol. Formula Vol%
Methane CH4 33.06
Ethane C2H6 14.84
Propane C3H8 10.31
Butane C4H10 6.24
Nitrogen N2 2.14
Carbon Dioxide CO2 4.32
Hydrogen Sulfide H2S 8.21
Water H2O 20.88

Table 2: Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG)


Component Mol. Formula Vol%
Methane CH4 85
Ethane C2H6 15
Nitrogen N2 Traces
Schematic diagram for Gas Processing Plant (GPP)
N2

H20
H2S, CO2

CH4 CH4
C2H6 C2H6
C3H8
C4H10
LNG
N2
CO2
H2S
H20

C3H8

C4H10
Absorber

Figure 2. TEG absorption dehydration scheme

The natural gas feed is first passed via an absorber where water is removed by absorption. The
most widely used method for industrial dehydration of natural gas is absorption. Absorption is
usually performed using triethyleneglycol sorbent (TEG). The industrial absorption
dehydration process proceeds in a glycol contactor (a tray column or packet bed). In a
contractor, a counter current flow of wet natural gas and TEG is arranged. During the contact,
the TEG is enriched by water and flows out of the bottom part of the contactor. The enriched
TEG then continues into the internal heat exchanger, which is incorporated at the top of the still
column in the regeneration section of the absorption unit. It then flows into the flash drum,
where the flash gases are released and separated from the stream. The TEG then runs to the
cold side of the TEG/TEG heat exchanger. Just afterwards, the warmed TEG is filtered and
then runs into the regeneration section, where is it sprayed in the still column. From there, the
TEG runs into the reboiler. In the reboiler, water is boiled out of the TEG. The regeneration
energy is around 282 kJ per liter of TEG. The temperature inside should not exceed 208°C, due
to the decomposition temperature of TEG. Regenerated (lean) TEG is then pumped back
through the hot side of the TEG/TEG and NG/TEG heat exchanger into the top of the contactor.
Amine Gas Sweetener

Hydrogen sulfide is the chemical compound with the formula H2S. It is a colorless
halogen hydride gas with the characteristic foul odor of rotten eggs. It is very poisonous,
corrosive, and flammable. At high temperatures or in the presence of catalysts, sulfur dioxide
reacts with hydrogen sulfide to form elemental sulfur and water. This reaction is exploited in
the Claus process, an important industrial method to dispose of hydrogen sulfide.

While, Carbon dioxide is a chemical compound that made of one carbon double bonded
with two oxygen. It exists as odorless at low concentration and colorless gas with a density
about 60% higher than dry air.CO2 is quite harmful and cause corrosiveness to the equipment/
unit operation in industries. In the biogas production it is sometimes necessary to remove
carbon dioxide from the biogas to make it comparable with the natural. The removal of the
sometimes high content of hydrogen sulfide is necessary to prevent corrosion of metallic parts
after burning the bio gas.

Chemical structure:

Hydrogen sulfide Carbon Dioxide

Sweetening Sour Gas (Hydrogen sulfide and Carbon Dioxide)

In natural gas, Sulfur exists as hydrogen sulfide (H2S), and this gas is usually considered
sour if the hydrogen sulfide content exceeds 5.7 milligrams of H2S per cubic meter of natural
gas. The process for removing hydrogen sulfide from sour gas is commonly referred to as
‘sweetening’ the gas and the process was explained as below.
. Examples of primary amines include monoethanolamine (MEA) and the proprietary
di The uses of primary amines are commonly to react directly with H2S, CO2, and carbonyl
sulfide (COS)glycolamine agent (DGA). Secondary amines also can react directly with H2S
and CO2 and react directly with some COS. The most common secondary amine is
diethanolamine (DEA) and diisopropanolamine (DIPA). They are very reactive and can
effectively remove a high volume of gas due to a high reaction rate

Chemical reaction of MEA with H2S and CO2:

2(RNH2) + H2S ↔ (RNH)2S……………………….(1)

(RNH3)2S + H2S ↔ 2(RNH3)HS…………………..(2)

2(RNH2) + CO2 ↔ RNHCOONH3R………………..(3)

Process Description:

Figure 3: Illustration of Amine Gas Sweetening Process Flow Diagram

The general process flow diagram for an amine-sweetening plant varies little, regardless
of the aqueous amine solution used as the sweetening agent (Figure 3). The sour gas containing
H2S and/or CO2 will nearly always enter the plant through an inlet separator (scrubber) to
remove any free liquids and/or entrained solids. The sour gas then enters the bottom of the
absorber column and flows upward through the absorber in intimate countercurrent contact
with the aqueous amine solution, where the amine absorbs acid gas constituents from the gas
stream. Sweetened gas leaving the top of the absorber passes through an outlet separator and
then flows to a dehydration unit (and compression unit, if necessary) before being considered
ready for sale.

In many units the rich amine solution is sent from the bottom of the absorber to a flash
tank to recover hydrocarbons that may have dissolved or condensed in the amine solution in
the absorber. The rich solvent is then preheated before entering the top of the stripper column.
The amine-amine heat exchanger serves as a heat conservation device and lowers total heat
requirements for the process. A part of the absorbed acid gases will be flashed from the heated
rich solution on the top tray of the stripper. The remainder of the rich solution flows downward
through the stripper in countercurrent contact with vapor generated in the reboiler. The reboiler
vapor (primarily steam) strips the acid gases from the rich solution. The acid gases and the
steam leave the top of the stripper and pass overhead through a condenser, where the major
portion of the steam is condensed and cooled. The acid gases are separated in the separator and
sent to the flare or to processing. The condensed steam is returned to the top of the stripper as
reflux.

The lean amine solution from the bottom of the stripper column is pumped through an
amine-amine heat exchanger and then through a cooler before being introduced to the top of
the absorber column. The amine cooler serves to lower the lean amine temperature to the 100°F
range. Higher temperatures of the lean amine solution will result in excessive amine losses
through vaporization and also lower acid gas-carrying capacity in the solution because of
temperature effects. Experience has shown that amine gas treatment is a fouling service.
Particulates formed in the plant as well as those transported into the plant can be very
bothersome. A filtration scheme of mechanical and activated carbon filters is therefore
important in maintaining good solution control. Mechanical filters such as cartridge filters or
precoat filters remove particulate material while carbon filters remove chemical contaminants
such as entrained hydrocarbons and surface-active compounds.
De-ethanizer

Figure 4: De-ethanizer Flow Diagram

De-ethanizer is one of the fractionation unit in which it remove C2 and lighter


component as the overhead product, while component heavier than C 2 gets removed as the
bottom product. Bottom product consisting of C3 and C4 goes through de-propanizer to separate
C3 and C4. A lot of factors affect the recovery rate such as temperature and pressure of feed
and reflux ratio of tower. It is crucial to maintain the pressure so that it is lower than critical
pressure so that it can be recovered. Typical operating pressure range for a de-ethanizer is
375–450 psia (2586–3103 kPa) with a reflux ratio of 0.5 to 1.5. Sometimes the pressure is
increased to prevent hydrate formation which is one of the major obstacle in this unit. Usually,
the number of trays are between range 25–35. There is a need to use condenser to recover the
top product. Else, a stabilizer unit is used if there is a high water content in the feed. However,
that is not necessary here since the water have been removed before feed to the de-ethanizer
unit.
Cryogenic

Figure 4: Cryogenic Flow Diagram

To separate N2 from methane and ethane, we decide to use cryogenic since the boiling point of
these 3 component are different by a huge margin. Cryogenic is a low-temperature rectification
(distillation) process, which utilises the different volatilities of methane (atmospheric boiling
point of -161.6°C) and nitrogen (atmospheric boiling point of -195.7°C) to achieve separation.
In this process, a system of distillation columns and heat exchangers in combination with J-T
expansion drastically reduces the temperature of the gas mixture to a point where methane
liquefies, whereas nitrogen still remains gaseous. It is cooled up to -170°C so that only methane
and ethane liquifies while Nitrogen remain as gas. Nitrogen obtained are then flue to the
atmosphere while LNG consisting of methane and ethane is formed at the bottom product.
There are a number of different ways of chilling the gas to these temperatures, but one of the
most effective and commonly used technique is known as the turbo expander process. In this
process, external refrigerants are used to cool the natural gas stream. Then, an expansion
turbine is used to rapidly expand the chilled gases, which causes the temperature to drop
significantly. This rapid temperature drop condenses methane and ethane, while maintaining
nitrogen in gaseous form. This process allows for the recovery of about 90 to 95 percent of the
LNG originally in the gas stream.
Summary Table

Operation Unit Explanation


Absorber Water (H2O) is removed by absorption technique.
Triethyleneglycol sorbent (TEG) is used to perform absorption
Amine Gas Sweetener Carbon Dioxide (CO2) and Hydrogen Sulfide (H2S) is removed.
Primary and secondary amines are used to react directly with
H2S and CO2 to remove them from natural gas.
De-ethanizer De-ethanizer removes C2 and lighter component as the overhead
product, while component heavier than C2 gets removed as the
bottom product.
Cryogenic Cryogenic utilises the different volatilities of methane and
nitrogen to achieve separation
De-propanizer De-propanize removes C3 and lighter component as the overhead
product, while component heavier than C3 gets removed as the
bottom product.

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