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Lecture 8 Natural Gas Sweetening Processes 2 2
Lecture 8 Natural Gas Sweetening Processes 2 2
By Amines
In packed columns the liquid solvent is dispersed in the gas stream by forming a film over the packing, providing a large surface area for CO2 and H2S transfer from the gas to the liquid solvent.
The degree of sweetening achieved is largely dependent on the number of trays or the height of packing available in the absorber. Twenty valve-type trays (spaced 24 inches apart) or the equivalent height in packing column are common and are often a standard design. Typically, small-diameter towers use packing, whereas larger towers use stainless steel trays. The cross-sectional area of the contactor (absorber) is sized for the gas and amine flow rates, where the maximum gas superficial velocity is obtained from the Souders and Brown (1932) equation as:
4.14
It may be necessary to reduce the gas velocity by 25 to 35% to avoid jet flooding and by 15% to allow for foaming. Use an amine velocity of 0.25 ft/sec in the downcomer.
In most cases a mist eliminator pad is installed near the gas outlet of the absorber (the distance between the top tay and the mist pad is 3 to 4 feet) to trap entrained solvent, and an outlet knockout drum, similar to the inlet separator for the gas feed, is provided to collect solvent carryover. Some contactors have a water wash consisting of two to five trays at the top of the absorber to minimize vaporization losses of amine, which is often found in low-pressure MEA (monoethanolamine) systems. Absorbers will usually have multiple feed points, allowing the option of introducing the lean amine lower in the column or at multiple trays. If carbon dioxide absorption is desired, all of the lean amine should, in general, be fed on the top tray, thus utilizing all available stages.
Q = [k(QG)(MF)] / [(WF)(AG)]
where
4.15
Q is circulation rate for amine systems, gal/min; K is constant (112 for MEA system and 192 for DEA system); QG is gas flow rate, MMscfd; MF is total acidgas fraction in inlet gas, moles acid gas/mole inlet gas; WF is amine weight fraction, lb amine/lb solution; is solution density, lb/gal at 60F; and
AG is acid gas loading, mole acid gas/mole amine. The rich solution acid gas loading depends on the acid gas partial pressure and corrosiveness of solution. The normal range of this parameter is 0.45 to 0.52 lbmole acid-gas/lbmole amine for MEA and 0.43 to 0.73 lbmole acid-gas/lbmole amine for DEA systems. For design, the following solution strengths and loading are recommended to provide an effective system without an excess of corrosion: MEA system: WF = 20 wt.% AG = 0.33 mole acid gas/mole MEA DEA system: WF = 35 wt.% AG = 0.5 mole acid gas/mole DEA For the recommended concentrations, the densities at 60F are 20% MEA = 8.41 lb/gal = 0.028 mole MEA/gal 35% DEA = 8.71 lb/gal = 0.029 mole DEA/gal Using these design limits, Equation (4-15) can be simplified to the following equation (Arnold and Stewart, 1999):
Q = k, (QG)(MF)
where k, is constant (201 for MEA system and 126 for DEA system).
4.16
The circulation rate determined with these equations should be increased by 1015% to supply an excess of amine. Since the reboiler duty is almost always tied directly to the circulation rate, lower circulation rates reduce the overall energy requirements. Lower circulation rates also tend to increase the CO2 slip and can improve the quality of the feed to the sulfur recovery unit.
Kettle reboilers return the heated amine solution and steam to the regenerator tower in different pipes.
HR = 432000 Q A = 11.30 Q
where Q is amine circulation flow rate, gal/min; HR is heat duty of amine reboiler, Btu/min; and A is heat transfer area of reboiler, ft2.
4.17 4.18
The reboiler duty should be maintained as low as possible, but must be adequate to regenerate the amine solution sufficiently to meet the sweet gas requirements and to ensure that the CO2 loadings in the reboiler do not cause excessive corrosion. Higher reboiler duties do not reduce circulation rates to any degree and just consume energy.
Reboiler temperature is dependent on solution concentration, flare/vent line back pressure, and/or residual CO2 content required. It is good practice to operate the reboiler at as low a temperature as possible. The normal operating range for reboiler temperature is 225 to 260F for MEA and 230 to 250F for DEA systems.
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The amine reflux condenser is required to cool the overhead gases and condense the overhead steam to water. The inlet temperature to the cooler can be found using the partial pressure of the overhead steam to determine the temperature from steam tables. The cooler outlet temperature is typically 130 to 145F depending on the ambient temperature. The heat duty and transfer area of an amine reflux condenser can be determined as follows (Jones and Perry, 1973):
HC = 18 105 Q A = 5.20 Q
where HC is heat duty of amine reflux condenser, Btu/min; and Q is amine circulation flow rate, gal/min.
4.19 4.20
The reflux accumulator is a two-phase separator used to separate the acid gases from the condensed water. The water is accumulated and pumped back to the top of the stripper as reflux.
HE = 27 105 Q A = 11.25 Q
where
4.21 4.22
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is HE is heat duty of amine heat exchanger, Btu/min; A is Heat transfer area, ft2; and Q is amine circulation flow rate, gal/min.
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Moisture may be removed from hydrocarbon gases at the same time as hydrogen sulfide is removed. Moisture removal is necessary to prevent harm to anhydrous catalysts and to prevent the formation of hydrocarbon hydrates (e.g., C3H8 18H2O) at low temperatures. A widely used dehydration and desulfhurization process is the glycol/amine process, in which the treatment solution is a mixture of ethanolamine and a large amount of glycol. The mixture is circulated through an absorber and a reactivator in the same way as ethanolamine is circulated in the Girbotol process. The glycol absorbs moisture from the hydrocarbon gas passing up the absorber; the ethanolamine absorbs hydrogen sulfide and carbon dioxide. The treated gas leaves the top of the absorber; the spent ethanolamine glycol mixture enters the reactivator tower, where heat drives off the absorbed acid gases and water.
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