Gas sweetening of natural gas

UAEU

Sweetening

Gas Sweetening of Natural Gas

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Reason for sweetening Natural gas

To meet sales specification To prevent corrosion To allow less costly metallurgy To remove toxicity hazards (H2S) To prevent freeze-ups in expanders (CO2)

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Iron sponge unit design

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Chemsweet tower

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Equilibrium solvent loading

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Gas sweetening processes

Classification of sweetening processes:

Batch processes: Iron sponge, Chemsweet, Sulfa-check and Caustic Soda. Uses: Low gas flow rates, and small concentration of H2S. Aqueous amine solutions: MEA, DEA, DGA, MDEA..etc Uses: to remove large amount of sulfur, and CO2 when needed. Mixed solutions: Mixture of amines, physical solvents and water Uses: absorb organic sulfur and are capable of high acid gas loading. Physical Solvents: Selexol, Rectisol, Purisol, Fluor Uses: Bulk removal of CO2 frequently offshore. Hot potassium carbonate solutions, analogs of the physical solvents Direct oxidation to sulfur, eliminate H2S emissions Adsorption, the use is limited to low acid gas concentration Membranes, suitable for bulk CO2 separations, when feedconcentration is very high.

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Sulfur contents in feed gas

Sulfur content in the feed gas S < 20 lb/day Batch processes are economical S > 100 lb/day Amine processes are preferred lb/day= 1.34 (MMscfd)(gr H2S/100 scf)

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Gas Sweetening, Batch Processes
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(1)

(2)

(3)

(4)

The Advantages: Complete removal of low to medium H2S concentrations with consumption of the reactant by CO2. Relatively low capital investment when compared to regenerative processes. The affinity for sulfur-containing gases is largely independent of the operating pressure. Often the removal of organic sulfur contaminants such as the lower molecular weight mercaptans is adequate.

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Gas sweetening of natural gas Gas Sweetening, Batch Processes, Cont.

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The disadvantages are:

Uninterrupted operation requires two or more contact towers. The presence of liquids poor upstream separation or condensation in the tower due temperature changes ruins iron sponge chips and makes liquid sweeteners foam. Hydrate formation can occur at higher pressures and lower temperatures.

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Gas sweetening of natural gas Gas Sweetening, Batch Processes, Iron Sponge

UAEU

Process Descriptions::
Iron sponge consists of wood chips or shavings impregnated with hydrated ferric oxide, Fe2O3, and sodium carbonate to control pH.

Fe2O3 3H 2 S Fe2 S3 3H 2O Fe2O3 6RSH Fe( RS)3 3H 2O

The Sweetening reactions:

Fe2 S3 3O Fe2O3 3S Fe( RS)3 3O Fe2O3 3RS : SR

The regeneration or revivification reactions are:

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Gas sweetening of natural gas

Amine and Mixed solutions

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Advantages:
Complete removal of medium to high concentrations of acid gases Relatively low operating cost per pound of sulfur removed compared with batch processes The solution composition can be tailored to the sour gas composition Large amount of organic sulfur compounds can also be removed when a physical solvent is added to the amine solution.

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Gas sweetening of natural gas

Amine and Mixed solutions

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Disadvantages:
High capital investment compared with batch processes The operational and maintenance costs are significant Some of the processes, Sulfinol, and Fexsorb require license or royalty fees

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Design of gas sweetening process

The required data:

Gas flow rate, Q, MMscfd Operating pressure, P, psig Operating temperature, T, F H2S inlet concentration, ppmv Compressibility factor, Z, (Fig. 3-16 to 3-21, if gas gravity is not known use 0.7) Expansion factor, f, (use 1.1 to 1.2)

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Calculation procedure

1. Compute the gas actual flow rate, Qa, at T&P

19.63(Q)(T 460)(Z ) Qa (P 14.7) where 14.7 atmospheric pressure at sea level

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Gas sweetening of natural gas

2. Internal vessel diameter, ID

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Calculate the internal cross-sectional area, A, and internal vessel diameter, ID - Assume superficial velocity, V - Cross sectional area= Q/V - ID= internal diameter

ID A / 0.7854
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3. Daily chemical requirment

Iron Sponge
Chemsweet Sulfa-Check

IS 0.0133 (Q )( ppmv H 2S ) ft 3 / day

CS 0.248 (Q)( ppmv H2S ) Lb / day SC 0.0474 (Q )( ppmv H 2S ) gal / day

NS 0.0109 (Q)( ppmv H2S ) gal 20 %NaOH / day

Caustic soda

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4. A static bed height, L

Typically 10 to 20 ft. The volume, RV, of reactant is:

RV 0.7854 (ID) (L) ft

2

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5. Bed Life, BL,

Iron spong Chemsweet

BL

RV/IS days 7.5 RV/SC days

BL 11.7 RV/CS days

Sulfa - Check BL

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Gas sweetening of natural gas

6. The charge requirements are:

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Iron spong : Chemsweet: Sulfa - Check :

RV bushels 11.7 RV lb solid 7.0 RV gal water 7.5 RV gallons

Bushel: A United States dry measure equal to 4 pecks or 2152.42 cubic inches, pecks = gallon
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7. Check contact time

Determine the space velocity, acfh/ft3 . This should be less than 180 acfh/ft3 for low H2S contents and 90 acfh/ft3 for over 50 gr/100 scf gas

Qa , (acfh ft / h ) Space velocity 3 RV , ft

3
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8. The heat effect:

The sulfur deposition or absorption should be less than 15 gr/min ft2 of bed area 100 ppmv = 100/15.9 = 6.3 gr H2S/100 scf

(Q, scf / min)( gr H 2S / scf ) S deposition (bed cross area )

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Example

An iron sponge unit; 1.5 ft diameter and 5 ft height is used for sweetening the following gas stream: 100 Mscfd, 100 ppm H2S, 1% CO2, 200 psig, 80 F, SG=0.7, elevation = 1000 ft. Verify that this design is viable

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Amine and Mixed Solutions

Monoethanolamine, MEA Diethanolamine, DEA Diisopropanolamine, DIPE Diglycolamine, DGA Methyldiethanolamine, MDEA

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Flow rates for, MEA, DEA, DGA, MDEA solutions

Circulation rate, gpm=K(MMscfd)(Mol pecent AG removed)

Amine Soln wt% Mole AG/mol Amine K

MEA DEA co

20 30

0.35 0.5

2.05 1.45

High load
DGA MDEA Mixed solvent

35
60 50 75

0.7
0.3 0.4 0.4

0.95
1.28 1.25 varies

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Tower ID (Figure 7-9)

See the next slide

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Gas sweetening of natural gas

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Contact tower diameter

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Reboiler

Duty (Btu/hr)= 72,000 x gpm Area (ft2)= 11.3 x gpm

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Circulation pump

Hp=(Circulation rate)(pressure)(0.00065) HP= (gal/min) (P, psig) (0.00065)

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Operation

The keys to trouble-free operation

Check the design parameters Anticipate condensation and hydrate formation during cold weather Include an inlet separator Pressurized the tower slowly Check the operation daily

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