GAS SWEETENING PROCESSES

• In addition to heavy hydrocarbons and water vapor, natural gas

often contains other contaminants that may have to be removed.
carbon dioxide (CO2) , hydrogen sulfide(H2S) , and other sulfur
compound such as mercaptans are compounds that may require
complete or partial removal for acceptance by gas purchaser.
• These compounds are known as “acid gases”. H2S combined with
water forms a weak form of sulfuric acid, while CO2 and water
forms carbonic acid, thus the term acid gas.
• Natural gas with H2S or other sulfur compounds present is called
“sour gas” ,while gas with only CO2 is called “sweet” .
• Hydrogen sulfide, carbon dioxide, mercaptans and other
contaminants are often found in natural gas streams. H2S is a
highly toxic gas that is corrosive to carbon steels. CO2 is also
corrosive to equipment and reduces the Btu value of gas. Gas
sweetening processes remove these contaminants so the gas is
suitable for transportation and use.
Methods to remove acidic components
There are many methods that may be employed to remove acidic
components (primarily H2S and CO2) from hydrocarbon streams.
The available methods may bebroadly categorized as those depending
on chemical reaction, absorption, or adsorption :
Chemical reaction process
Aqueous alkanolamine processes
Alkaline salt process(hot potassium carbonate)
Solid bad absorption
Iron sponge
Molecular sieves
Physical solvent processes
Shell sulfinol
Selexol
Direct conversion of H2S to sulfur
Claus process
 Process Selection
Each of the previous treating processes has advantages relative to the
others for certain applications , therefore, in selection of the appropriate
process, the following facts should be considered:

The type acid contaminants present in the gas stream.

The concentrations of each contaminant and degree of removal desired.
The volume of gas to be treated and temperature and pressure at which the
gas is available.
The feasibility of recovering sulfur.
The desirability of selectively removing one or more of the contaminants
without removing others.
The presence and amount of heavy hydrocarbons and aromatics in the gas.
CHEMICAL REACTION PROCESSES
Chemical reaction processes remove the H2S and/or CO2 from the gas stream
by chemical reaction with a material in the solvent solution. The reactions may
be reversible or irreversible. In reversible reactions the reactive material removes
CO2 and/or H2S in the contactor at high partial pressure and/or low temperature.
The reaction is reversed by high temperature and/or low pressure in the stripper.
In irreversible processes the chemical reaction is not reversed and removal of
the H2S and/or CO2 requires continuous makeup of the reacting material .
Aqueous Alkanolamine Processes
Alkanolamines have become the most widely used solvents for the removal of
acid gases from natural gas streams. Triethanolamine (TEA) was the first used
commercially for gas treating. It has been displaced for conventional applications
by other alkanolamines such as monoethanolamine(MEA), diethanolamine
(DEA), diisopropanolamine (DIPA),diglycolamine (DGA) and
methyldiethanolamine (MDEA).
The alkanolamine processes are particularly applicable where acid gas partial
pressures are low and/or low levels of acid gas are desired in the residue gas.
Because the water content of the solution minimizes heavy hydrocarbon
absorption, these processes are well suited for gases rich in heavier hydrocarbons.
Some amines can be used to selectively remove H2S in the presence of CO2.
There actually are four different types of basic amine
sweetening processes to be considered for use:
The aqueous monoethanolamine(MEA) process, which has been
widely used for sweetening of natural gas streams.
The aqueous diethanolamine (DEA) process, which traditionally has
been used primarily for refinery or manufactured gas sweetening , but is
now finding applications in natural gas sweetening.
Glycol amine processes which use either monoethanolamine or
diethanolamine in combination with a glycol to simultaneously sweeten
and dehydrate the gas stream .
Aqueous triethanolamine systems , which in general have been
displaced by mono or diethanolamine systems.
Process Description:
The general process flow for an alkanolamine treating plant is shown in
the following figure:

Typical Gas Sweetening by Chemical Reaction

•Sour natural gas enters through an inlet separator for the removal of
liquids and/or solids.
•From the separator, the gas stream enters the bottom of the contactor
where it contacts the amine solution flowing down from the top of the
column.
•The acid gas components in the gas react with the amine to form a
regenerable salt. As the gas continues to pass up the contactor, more
acid gases chemically react with the amine.
•The sweetened gas leaves the top of the contactor and passes through
an outlet separator to catch any solution which may be carried over.
•Rich amine solution leaving the contactor flows through a flash tank to
remove absorbed hydrocarbons.
•From the flash tank, the rich solution passes through the rich/lean
exchanger where heat is absorbed from the lean solution. The heated
rich amine goes to the top portion of the stripper. As the solution flows
down the column to the reboiler, it is stripped of H2S and CO2.
•The amine solution leaves the bottom of the stripper as lean solution. This lean
solution is then passed through the rich/lean exchanger and a lean cooler to
reduce the lean solution temperature to approximately 10°F warmer than the
inlet gas temperature, to stay above the hydrocarbon dew point. At this point,
the lean solution is returned to the contactor to repeat the cycle.
•Acid gas stripped from the amine passes out of the top of the stripper. It goes
through a condenser and separator to cool the stream and recover water. The
recovered water is usually returned to the stripper as reflux. The acid gas from
the reflux separator is either vented, incinerated, sent to sulfur recovery
facilities, or compressed for sale (or reinjection on enhanced oil recovery
projects).
 Procedure for making rough estimates of the principal
parameters for conventional MEA and DEA amine treating
facilities:
The procedure involves estimating the amine circulation rate and
using it as the principal variable in estimating other parameters:
Estimated Heat Exchange Requirements
Estimated Power Requirements
Regeneration Vessel Sizes
For estimating amine circulation rate
 For MEA:
GPM  41   QY X 

(0.33 mol acid gas pick-up per mole MEA assumed)

For DEA (conventional):

GPM  45   QY X 
(0.5 mol acid gas pick-up per mole DEA assumed)
For DEA (high loading):

GPM  32   QY X 
(0.7 mol acid gas pick-up per mole DEA assumed)
Where:
GPM= Amine circulation rate, gallons/minute
Q = Sour gas to be processed, MMscfd
Y= Acid gas concentration in sour gas, mole%
X = Amine concentration in liquid solution, wt%
Note: These equations should not be used if the combined H2S plus CO2
concentration in the gas is above 5 mole%. They also are limited to a maximum amine
concentration of about 30% by weight.
 After the amine circulation has been estimated, heat and heat exchange
and power requirements can be estimated from the following information’s:
Estimated Heat Exchange Requirements
Area, ( ft2) Duty, (Btu/hr) Heat Exchanger
11.30 x GPM 72000 x GPM Reboiler (Direct fired)
11.25 x GPM 45000 x GPM Rich-Lean Amine HEX
10.20 x GPM 15000 x GPM Amine cooler (air cooled)
5.20 x GPM 30000 x GPM Reflux condenser
Estimated Power Requirements

Power Pumps
HP =GPM x PSIG x 0.00065 Main Amine Solution Pumps
HP =GPM x 0.06 Amine Booster Pumps

HP =GPM x 0.06 Reflux Pump

HP =GPM x 0.36 Aerial Cooler

Regeneration Vessel Sizes (inches)

Carbon Flash Reflux Surge Still Solution

Filter Tank Accum. Tank Dia Circulation
m. Rate, GPM
L D L D L D L D

84 16 72 24 36 16 72 24 16 10
84 24 96 42 48 24 96 42 24 25
96 36 144 48 96 30 144 48 30 50
96 48 192 60 96 42 192 60 42 100
96 60 288 84 96 60 288 84 60 200
96 72 384 84 96 72 384 84 72 300
96 84 384 96 96 84 384 96 84 400

] L= Length , D= Diameter [
  Given:
3.0 MMscfd of gas available at 850 psig and containing 0.6% H2S and
%
CO2 is to be sweetened using 20%, by weight, DEA solution. If a
entional
DEA system is to be used,
 Find :
what amine circulation rate is required, and what will be the principal
meters
for the DEA treating system?
 Solution:
The required solution circulation is:
Y= 0.6+2.8= 3.4
GPM = 45 (Q Y/X )
= 45(3 x3.4/20) = 23 gallons per minute.
Heat exchange requirements
Reboiler
Q = 72,000 x 23 = 1.66 x 106 Btu/hr
A = 11.3 x 23 = 260 ft2
Rich-Lean amine exchanger
Reflux condenser
Q = 30,000 x23 = 6.9 x105 Btu/hr
A = 5.2 x 23 = 120 ft2
Power requirements
Main amine pumps
HP = 23 x850 x0.00065 = 12.7
Amine booster pumps
HP = 23 x0.06 = 1.4
Reflux pumps
HP = 23 x0.06 = 1.4
Aerial cooler
HP = 23 x0.36 = 8.3
Regeneration vessel sizes
Still diameter = 24 inches
Surge tank = 42 inches dia. by 96 inches long
Reflux accumulator =24 inches dia. by 48 inches long
Flash tank = 42 inches dia. by 96 inches long
Carbon filter = 24 inches dia. by 84 inches long
Contactor Capacity
From Figure at operating pressure = 850 psig and 3 MMscfd of gas :
`  The contactor will be 16 inches in diameter.
Contactor Capacity
Potassium carbonate is pumped to the top of a packed or trayed contactor
where it contacts the gas stream. The rich solution flows to the stripper where
the acid gases are stripped with steam. The lean solution is then pumped back
to the contactor to complete the cycle. The hot potassium carbonate solutions
are extremely corrosive. All carbon steel must be stress relieved to limit
corrosion. A variety of corrosive of corrosion inhibitors , such as fatty amines or
potassium dichromate, are available to decrease corrosion.
PHYSICAL SOLVENT PROCESSES
These processes are based on physical absorption and operate with a flow
scheme as shown in the following figure.
In general, a physical solvent process should be considered when :
The partial pressure of the acid gas in the feed is greater than 50 psi.
The heavy hydrocarbon concentration in the feed gas is low.
Bulk removal of the acid gas is desired.
Selective removal of H2S is desired.
These processes are economically attractive because little or no energy is
required for regeneration. The solvents are regenerated by:
Multi-stage flashing to low pressures.
Regeneration at low temperatures with an inert stripping gas.
Heating and stripping of solution with steam/solvent vapors.
Potassium carbonate processes
The hot potassium carbonate (K2CO3) process uses hot potassium carbonate to
remove both CO2 and H2S . It works best on a gas with CO2 partial pressures in
the range of 30 – 90 psi.
The overall reactions for CO2 and H2S with potassium carbonate can be
represented by:
K 2CO3  CO2  H 2O  2 KHCO3
K 2CO3  H 2 S  KHS  KHCO3
Process Description
Single Stage Process:
In general, physical solvents are capable of removing COS,CS2, and mercaptans.

Typical Gas Sweetening by Physical Absorption

In certain instances, physical absorption processes are capable of
simultaneously dehydrating and treating the gas although additional
equipment and higher energy requirements may be needed to dry the
solvent.
The processes operate at ambient or sub ambient temperature to
enhance the solubility of the acid gases. The solvents are relatively
noncorrosive so carbon steel can be used. Chemical losses are low
due to low solvent vapor pressure.
Physical solvents will absorb heavy hydrocarbons from the gas stream
resulting in high hydrocarbon content in the acid gas stream as well as
possibly significant hydrocarbon losses.
Sulfinol Process
The Sulfinol Process, is used to remove H2S, CO2, COS, CS2, mercaptans
and polysulfides from natural and synthetic gases.
Sulfinol is a mixture of Sulfolane (a physical solvent), water and either DIPA or
MDEA (both chemical solvents). It is this dual capacity as both a physical and a
chemical solvent that gives Sulfinol its advantages.
Sulfinol with DIPA (Sulfinol-D) is used when complete removal of H2S, CO2,
and COS is desired. Sulfinol with MDEA (Sulfinol-M) is used for the selective
removal of H2S in the presence of CO2, with partial removal of COS.
Both Sulfinols can reduce the total sulfur content of treated gas down to low
ppm levels.
The advantages of Sulfinol are:
Low energy requirements.
Low foaming and noncorrosive nature.
High acid gas loadings.
Some removal of trace sulfur compounds.
The disadvantages of Sulfinol are:
Higher heavy hydrocarbon co-absorption.
Reclaimed sometimes required when removing CO2.
Troubleshooting gas sweetening processes
Inlet Separation
All gas sweetening units should have a well designed inlet separator.
Inadequate inlet separation can cause severe problems for both the gas
treating and downstream processing equipment. The inlet separator should be
sized not only on the basis of inlet fluid volumes, but also on surge capacity to
handle slugs of liquid hydrocarbons, water, and/or well treatment chemicals.
Filtration
Filtration of the treating solution to remove entrained solids is essential to the
successful operation of a gas treating plant. Filtration rates should be as high
as practical and should range from 5 per cent of circulation to full stream.
Removing particles down to 5 microns in size is recommended. In order to do
this efficiently, two stages of filtration may be required. The first stage, typically
a cartridge-type filter, is designed to remove particles down to the 10 micron or
less range. The second stage of filtration, typically an activated carbon filter,
removes hydrocarbons and other contaminants. This is accomplished by
adsorption. The carbon filter can also remove smaller particles from the amine
stream. The carbon granule size can be selected to remove particles down to
the 5 micron range.
The activated carbon filter should always be located downstream of the cartridge
filter because the deposition of solids would plug the carbon filter. During periods
of antifoam injection, the carbon filter should be taken out of service. Carbon will
remove most antifoams and will be prematurely deactivated by them .Carbon
filters can be partially regenerated with steam, which removes hydrocarbons and
other adsorbed contaminants. Regeneration or bed change out is recommended
when foam tests on the inlet and outlet streams show no improvement.
Flash Tank
Rich solution leaving the contactor may pass through a flash tank. Gases
entrained in the rich solution will be separated.
Using a flash tank will:
Reduce erosion in rich/lean exchangers.
Minimize the hydrocarbon content in the acid gas.
Reduce the vapor load on the stripper.
Possibly allow the off-gas from the flash tank to be used as fuel (may require
sweetening).
When heavy hydrocarbons are present in the natural gas, the flash tank can also
be used to skim off the heavy hydrocarbons that were absorbed by the solution.
Residence times for flash tanks in amine service vary from 5-30 minutes
depending on separation requirements. Inlet gas streams containing only
methane and ethane require shorter residence times.
Corrosion
Corrosion is an operating concern in nearly all sweetening installations. The
combination of H2S and CO2 with water practically ensures that corrosive
conditions will exist in portions of the plant. In general, gas streams with high
H2S to CO2 ratios are less corrosive than those having low H2S to CO2 ratios.
Because the corrosion in sweetening plants tends to be chemical in nature, it is
strongly a function of temperature and liquid velocity. The type of sweetening
solution being used and the concentration of that solution has a strong impact
on the corrosion rate. Increased corrosion can be expected with stronger
solutions and higher gas loadings.
Several forms of stress corrosion cracking are possible in amine sweetening
systems. Amine stress corrosion cracking can occur and is worst in hot solutions,
but cracking can occur in cooler lines and both rich and lean streams.
Corrosion in alkaline salt processes, such as the hot carbonate process, has
been reported to range from none to severe. Corrosion can be expected where
CO2 and steam are released through flashing. Severe erosion can take place
when carbonate solution strengths exceed 40% because of the tendency to form
bicarbonate crystals when the solution cools.
Many corrosion problems may be solved using corrosion inhibitors in
combination with operating practices which reduce corrosion. Following are
some guidelines to minimize corrosion.
Maintain the lowest possible reboiler temperature.
Minimize solids and degradation products in the system through reclaimed operation
and effective filtration.
Keep oxygen out of the system by providing a gas blanket on all storage tanks and
maintain a positive pressure on the suction of all pumps.
Ensure deionized water or oxygen/chemical-free boiler condensate is used for make
up water. If available, steam can be used to replace water loss.
Maintain adequate solution level above reboiler tube bundles and fire tubes; a
minimum tube submergence of 6" is recommended.
Foaming
A sudden increase in differential pressure across a contactor often indicates
severe foaming. When foaming occurs, there is poor contact between the gas
and the chemical solution. The result is reduced treating capacity and
sweetening efficiency.
Some reasons for foaming are:
Suspended solids
Organic acids
Corrosion inhibitors
Condensed hydrocarbons
Soap-based valve greases
Makeup water impurities
Degradation products
Lube Oil
Foaming problems can usually be traced to plant operational problems.
Contaminants from upstream operations can be minimized through adequate
inlet separation. Condensation of hydrocarbons in the contactor can usually be
avoided by maintaining the lean solution temperature at least 10°F above the
hydrocarbon dew point temperature of the outlet gas.
Temporary upsets can be controlled by the addition of antifoam chemicals.
These antifoams are usually of the silicone or long-chain alcohol type.
SAFETY PRECAUTIONS
Hydrogen sulfide is a highly toxic gas. At very low concentrations irritation of the
eyes, nose, and throat is possible. The human nose can detect hydrogen sulfide
in concentrations as low as 0.02 ppmv. However, the human sense of smell
cannot be relied on to detect hazardous concentrations of hydrogen sulfide.
Higher concentrations and extended exposure to hydrogen sulfide will
desensitize the sense of smell.
The concentrations required for different reactions by the human body are:
1-Threshold limit value (TLV) for prolonged exposure: 10 ppmv
2-Slight symptoms after several hours exposure: 10-100ppmv
3- Maximum concentration that can be inhaled for one hour without serious effects,
significant eye and respiratory irritation: 200-300 ppmv
4- Dangerous after exposure of 30 minutes to one hour:500-700 ppmv
5- Fatal in less than 30 minutes: 700-900 ppmv and above.
6- Death in minutes: greater than 1000 ppmv

Hydrogen sulfide is a highly flammable gas and will support combustion in air at
concentrations from 4.3 to 46.0 volume percent. Hydrogen sulfide vapors are
heavier than air and may migrate considerable distances to a source of ignition.