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All rights reserved www.ajol.info and Vol. 20 (2) 253 – 258
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ABSTRACT: This study compares three conventional methods of natural gas (Associated
Natural Gas) dehydration to carry out the dehydration process and suitability of use on the
basis of energy requirement. These methods are Triethylene Glycol (TEG) absorption, solid
desiccant adsorption and condensation. Analyses performed were based on dehydration of
Natural Gas saturated with 103Nm3/h water content at a temperature range of -10O C to 30oC,
and gas pressure variation between 7MPa and 20MPa. This analysis and study showed that
energy required for all three processes decreases with increase in pressure, but condensation
dehydration requires the least energy at high pressures. Results obtained shows that, both at
high pressures and low pressures, TEG dehydration is most suitable and in cases where very
low Tdew is required, solid desiccant adsorption is preferable. In conclusion, the findings in
this paper will aid natural gas process design engineers to decide on what method to use base
on energy consumption and on the physical and chemical properties of the final products. ©
JASEM
http://dx.doi.org/10.4314/jasem.v20i2.4
Natural gas usually contains significant amount of of the natural gas can be calculated using the equation
water vapour. Changes in temperature and pressure defined bellow (Gandhidasan, 2003)
condense this water vapour, altering the physical state
from gas to liquid and then to solid. This water must = 593,335exp(0.05486 ) .
(TEG). Absorption is done in glycol contactor (tray temperature of TEG. Regenerated (lean) TEG is then
column or packet bed) by countercurrent flow of wet recycled back through heat exchanger and additional
gas (20-35°C) and TEG. TEG is enriched (by H2O) cooling unit back into the top of contactor. The
and flows out in the bottom of contactor, then runs processis depicted in the figure below (Bahadori and
through flash and heat exchanger into reboiler. In the Vuthaluru, 2009).
reboiler the H2O is boiled out. Temperature inside
should not exceed 208°C due to decomposition
e
Fig 2: Scheme of temperature swing adsorption dehydration process.
Condensation Dehydration: This method employs gas natural gas by cooling. The condensation method is
cooling to turn water molecules into the liquid phase therefore usually applied for simultaneous dehydration
and then removes them from the stream (Guo and and recovery of natural gas liquids.
Ghalambor, 2005). Natural gas liquids and condensed Natural gas can be advantageously cooled using the
higher hydrocarbons can also be recovered from Joule-Thompson effect (JT effect). The JT effect
describes how the temperature of a gas changes with there is another phenomenon connected with the
pressure adjustment. For NG, thanks to expansion, the cooling of wet NG, the formation of methane hydrate.
average distance between its molecules increases, Hydrates formed by cooling may plug the flow. This
leading to an increase in their potential energy (Van can be prevented by injecting methanol or
der Waals forces). During expansion, there is no heat monoethylenglycol (MEG) hydrate inhibitors before
exchange with the environment, and no work creation. each cooling. Figure 3 depicts an industrial application
Therefore, due to the conservation law, the increase in of dehydration method utilizing the JT effect and
potential energy leads to a decrease in kinetic energy MEG hydrate inhibition (Netusil and Ditl, 2012).
and thus a decrease in temperature of NG. However,
Each of presented method has its advantages and 50°C and contaminated gases are not a problem. On
disadvantages. Absorption by TEG is nowadays the the other hand, adsorption requires the highest capital
most widely used method and usually reaches the costs and space requirements. Condensation
outlet Tdew around -10°C. Furthermore, with improved dehydration is the most suitable in cases where a high-
re- boiler design (Vacuum striping, Drizo, Coldfinger) pressure difference between Underground Storage Gas
the outlet Tdew is even 2–3 times lower. However TEG (USG) and distribution connection is available.
has a problem with sulfur or higher hydrocarbons However the difference during withdrawal period
contaminated gas, it causes TEG in reboiler to foam decreases and when it is insufficient, an external
and with time is changing into “black mud”. Another cooling cycle is needed. In addition, a cycle for
disadvantage are BTEX emissions in reboiler vent hydrate inhibitor regeneration (out of liquids separated
(Hubbard et al, 2000). Adsorption dehydration can inside the flashes) is required (Netusil and Ditl, 2012).
achieve very low outlet water concentration Tdew< -
D 0 D 0 012
A*; B,)#C< .' ( / 4 5;'<=$A*; / 4: I ' () *+ (),+- .' ( / 4J 2
3 012E F G HGD 3
% 012
!0 2 K('+ ;<L#=< M )('N(99%) = / 4 IA*; B,)#C< .' ( / 4J 3
3
R S
PQ / 4 = !0 G BT ∆A 4
3
XC
I BT = 0.72 J
<YN℉
R S 01 66789
P[ / 4 = 970.3 I>' () )(N=\(& / 4J 5;'" $<=> )' ( / 4: 5
3 3 ? @
R S
P[ / 4 = 0.25P[ 6
3
R S TE`%
](' K='& / 4 = (PQ + P[ + P[ ) /1 + 4 7
3
Where a]K% is percentage heat loss. Here, 15% heat loss was used.
Adsorption Dehydration Method: For adsorption, the design specifications of the adsorber stated in the paper by
Netusil and Ditl, (2010), was considered most appropriate for this method. The calculations employed at varying
pressure in this method are based on GPSA 2004.
ddefg pqr
5 Q/ 4:kl ?Qm ?(012)n5l oG HGD/ 4:
012 T(%) hij ddefg
' () b&"=)Y / 4 = /1 − 4 8
3
R S TE`(%)
](' K=""P30 / 4 = (P + PQH + PQ ) / 4 9
3
R S
Where P / 4 = ](' )(sC,)(& = &("=)Y >' ()
3
R S
PQH / 4 = ](' )(sC,)(& = ,+#)('"( Y(& (Na()' C)(
3
R S
PQ / 4 = ](' )(sC,)(& = ℎ(' ℎ( \(""(<
3
R S
P / 4 = (2.5)(P + PQH + PQ + P30 ) 10
3
The 2.5 factor correct for the changes in Temperature difference across the bed with time during the regeneration
cycle (GPSA, 2004).
Condensation Dehydration Method: The total heat Table 1: Energy Requirement for
energy for the condensation dehydration method, was Absorption Dehydration Process
calculated based on industrial data and supplementary Parameters Heat Requirement
calculation was done using the Joule-Thomson Effect. (x103 Btu/hr)
Qs 275.397
The total heat energy is the sum of the heat energy in Qvw 78.849
the air pre-cooling unit, external cooling unit pumps Qvr 19.712
for injecting Methyl Ethylene Glycol (MEG), MEG Heat Loss 56.0937
regeneration heat, and flash heating. Total Heat Load 430.0517
Graphical plot was generated and then use to compare Adsorption Dehydration: The calculation of the
the three methods of gas dehydration processes. energy requirement for the adsorption dehydration
method was based on the parameters in the design
RESULTS AND DISCUSSION specification presented in Netusil and Ditl, (2010).
Absorption Dehydration: The lean TEG concentration Using Equation 8 to 10, Table 2 shows the results of
is 99% and the rich TEG temperature entering the the various component of the total heat regeneration
regenerator is 302oF. The reboiler temperature is duty. The results are compared with those of GPSA,
410oF (2004), Gandhidasan (2001), and Kumar (1987).
Condensation Dehydration: In the condensation generated by Netusil and Ditl, (2012). One attendant
process, water is remove from the Natural Gas stream effect is thermal weakening of process facility. As
by cooling the gas through an expansion valve (Joule- pressure decrease, energy consumption decrease
Thomson Effect). The amount of water remove is linearly.
dependent on the pressure difference between the inlet
gas stream and the outlet gas stream. The Natural Gas Although, the total energy consumption for the
(90MMScf/d) is throttle through the expansion valve adsorption dehydration method is higher than that of
at varying inlet pressures from 7MPa to 20MPa. The absorption method, but it seems that the cause of their
outlet pressure is control such that MEG was energy consumption are almost the same, as can be
continually injected into the inlet stream to prevent clearly seen in Fig.4.
hydrate formation in the system. A MEG rate of 386
gal/hr was used. Result obtained are shown in Table 3. At 16.4MPa, energy consumption for Adsorption and
Condensation dehydration method are the same of
Analysis of Results: Energy consumption is a major about 145x103Btu/hr, which is higher than Absorption
factor that contributes to increase in operating cost. dehydration, which is about 100x103Btu/hr at the same
Natural Gas process design Engineers are aware of this pressure. In comparison with data obtained by Netusil
and they tend to reduce energy consumption via and Ditl (2012), at the same pressure total energy
efficient energy management, without compromise to consumed for Adsorption was 426.517x103Btu/hr and
product quality, environment, health and safety of 272.971x103Btu/hr for Absorption.
personnel. The best selection from available design
alternatives, based on design parameters and available At pressure of 20MPa (2915psia), the total energy
industrial data, help in efficient energy management. consumption for Absorption is about 85x103Btu/hr
and for Adsorption is about 132x103Btu/hr, making
A close look at Fig. 4 shows that at reduced pressure, Absorption dehydration method more preferable in
condensation dehydration method with MEG removing water form AG
injection, consumes more energy above
300x103Btu/hr at pressure below 10MPa. This is in
perfect agreement with value obtained in the plot
Table 3: Energy Requirement for Condensation Gandhidasan, P, Al-Farayedhi, A., and Al-Mubarak,
Dehydration Process A. (2001) Dehydration of natural gas using
Parameters (x103 Btu/hr) solid desiccants. Energy 26: 855-868.
Pressu MEG and MEG Flash Total
re Condensate Regeneration Heating
Pump
Gandhidasan, P. (2003). Parameter Analysis of
(Mpa) Natural Gas Dehydration by Triethylene Glycol
7 47.77 218.37 174.01 440.16 Solution. Energy 26: 855-201.
10 17.06 170.60 102.36 290.03
15 16.41 109.18 37.53 163.13 GPSA (2004) Engineering Data Book. 12th ed. Tulsa:
20 9.21 58.00 19.92 87.14 GPSA Press.
450
Absorption Dehydration (TEG) Guo, B. and Ghalambor, A. (2005). Natural Gas
Adsorption Dehydration
400 Condensation Dehydration (MEG) Engineering Handbook, Gulf Publishing,
Houston, Texas, USA.
Total Energy Consumption (x1000 Btu/hr)
350
150
Kumar, S (1987) Gas Production Engineering.
Houston: Gulf Professional Publishing 239.
100
50
NET4GAS (2011) Gas quality parameters. Available
8 10 12 14 16 18 20
Pressure (MPa)
at:http://extranet.transgas.cz/caloricity_spec.aspx
Fig 4: Graphical Comparison of the Total Energy .
Consumed By the Three Methods
Netusil, M. and Ditl, P. (2010). Comparison of
Conclusion: Based on the total energy consumed by Methods for Dehydration of Natural Gas Stored
each method of AG dehydration process, it is more in Underground Storage, Journal of Applied
economical to use Absorption dehydration method to Chemistry 49(2): 87-88.
remove water from Associated Gas. The simple reason
is that it consume less energy both at high and low Netusil M, Ditl P (2011) “Comparison of Three
pressures. This justify the fact that in Natural Gas Methods for Natural Gas Dehydration, Journal of
Processing industry, absorption dehydration is Natural Gas Chemistry 20, 471 – 476.
frequently applied in dehydrating Associated Natural
Gas. Netusil, M. and Ditl, P. (2012), Natural Gas
Dehydration. INTECH, Czech Technical
REFERENCES University, Prague, Czech Republic.
Bahadori, A. and Vuthaluru, H.B. (2009). Simple
Methodology for Sizing of Absorbers for TEG
Gas Dehydration Systems. Energy 34: 1910-
1916.