Mechanical Design and Operation o Alhnolamine Plants f

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Table 3-3 Recommended Maximum Amine Solution Concentrations and Maximum Rich and Lean Amine Solution Loadings
Mol Acid GaslMol Amine Maximum Wt% Maximum Maximum Amine Concentration Lean Loading Rich Loading MEA MEA MEA* MEA MEA MEA DEA DEA DEA DEA MDEA DGA DIPA
Notes: *For C02 only.

Reference
Dupart et al., 1993B Dingman et al., 1966 Montrone and Long, 1971 Ballard, 1966 Butwell et al., 1982 Hall and Polderman, 1960 Dupart et al., 1993B Smith and Younger, 1972 Wendt and Daily, 1967 Butwell et al., 1982 Dupart et al., 1993B Butwell et al., 1982 Butwell et al., 1982

15-20 15-20 18 18 10-20 e20 25-30 20-30 20-30 2040 50-55 50-65 2040

0.10-0.15 0.08-0. 12 0.13

0.30-0.35 0.35-0.40

<o.10*
0.05-0.07

0.004-0.010

0.3-0.4 0.25-0.45 c0.4 0.35-0.40 0.33-1.0 0.77-1 .O 0.50-0.85 0.45-0.50 0.25-0.45 0.50-0.85

(Wendt and Daily, 1967). The second control method uses the temperature between the top regenerator tray and the regenerator overhead condenser to reset the reboiler heat medium flow. See Figure 3-8. This controls the moles of reflux water per mole of acid gas leaving the amine regenerator overhead because, at a fixed regenerator operating pressure, the temperature above the top tray is directly related to the mol% water in the acid gas leaving the top tray. Usually, a reflux ratio of 1.0-2.0 moles of water per mole acid gas is adequate to strip most amines (Dupart et al., 1993B). As Figure 3-6 illustrates, high rich amine loadings can also lead to excessive corrosion. Figure 3-9 depicts a control strategy used to limit rich amine loadings and control corrosion (Dingman and Moore, 1968). As shown in Figure 3-9, in a typical amine absorber most of the heat of reaction is released in the bottom section of the tower. If there is too little amine in relation to the amount of acid gas, the temperature bulge moves up the column. If there is excessive amine, the temperature bulge moves to the bottom of the column and amine acid gas loadings are low. Using the temperatm near the middle of the amine absorber to reset the amine flow, as depicted, for example, in Figure 3-9, maintains a relatively constant rich amine loading. This minimizes the chance of severe corrosion due to temporary overloading of the rich amine solution and also minimizes lean amine pumping and rich amine stripping costs. For this control scheme to work the temperature bulge must be at least 15 to 20"F, so it is not suitable for an absorber treating a gas stream with a low acid gas content. There is general agreement that concentrated amine solutions with low acid gas loadings are less corrosive than less concentrated solutions with higher loadings when it is necessary to absorb more acid gas. Butwell (1968), for example, recommends that amine concentrations be