Docu ment No.

GP 47-10
Appli cability Group
Date 29 F ebruary 2008

GP 47-10

Glycol Dehydration and Regeneration

Group Practice

BP GROUP
ENGINEERING TECHNICAL PRACTICES
29 February 2008 GP 47-10
Glycol Dehydration and Regeneration

Foreword

This is the fi rst issue of Engineeri ng T echni cal Practice (ETP) B P GP 47-10. This document is
techni cally identi cal to the former GP 60-35 dat ed 16-December-2005. This Group P ractice (GP) is
based on parts of herit age documents from the merged BP compani es as foll ows:

British Petroleum
GS -140-1 Gl ycol Dehydration Unit.

Copyright © 2008, BP Group. All rights reserved.The information contained in this

document is subject to the term s and conditions of the agreement or contract under which
the document was supplied to the recipient’s organization. None of the inform ation
contained in this document shall be disclosed outside the recipient’s own organization
without the prior written perm ission of BP Group, unless the term s of such agreement or
contract expressly allow.

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Glycol Dehydration and Regeneration

Table of Contents
Page
Fore word .............................................................................................................................................. 2
1. Scope .......................................................................................................................................... 4
2. No rm ative reference s................................................................................................................. 4
3. Symbols and abb reviations ........................................................................................................ 5
4. HSE ............................................................................................................................................. 5
5. Gene ral design con siderations................................................................................................... 5
6. M echanical design ...................................................................................................................... 6
6.1. Heat Exchangers............................................................................................................. 6
6.2. Filtration ........................................................................................................................... 6
6.3. Relief Valves/ System s..................................................................................................... 7
6.4. Conta cto r To wer .............................................................................................................. 7
6.5. Pumps.............................................................................................................................. 8
6.6. Surge Drum .....................................................................................................................8
6.7. Reboiler ........................................................................................................................... 8
6.8. Piping............................................................................................................................... 8
7. Chem ical injection....................................................................................................................... 9
8. In sulation..................................................................................................................................... 9
9. In strumentation ........................................................................................................................... 9
10. Electrical ................................................................................................................................... 10

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Glycol Dehydration and Regeneration

1. Scope

This Group P racti ce gives gui delines for the design and inst all ation of Glycol Dehydrati on and
Regeneration Syst ems. This document t akes into account heal th, safet y and envi ronment al legisl ati on,
good desi gn practi ce, and t echnical and economic considerations for designi ng t he syst em.

2. Norm ative references

The following normative documents cont ai n requi rements that, through reference i n this text,
constit ut e requi rements of this t echni cal practi ce. For dated references, subsequent amendment s to, or
revisi ons of, any of these publi cat ions do not appl y. However, parti es to agreements based on thi s
techni cal practi ce are encouraged to investi gat e the possibility of applying the most recent editions of
the normati ve documents indi cated bel ow. For undated references, the l atest edition of t he normati ve
document referred to appli es.

American Petroleum Institute (API)

RP C Desi gn, Inst all ati on and Test ing of Surface Safety Syst ems for Offshore
Producti on Pl atforms.
RP E Desi gn and Install ati on of Pipi ng for Offshore Production Plat forms.
RP-520 Appendix D Fi re Reli ef Devi ces

American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME)

Section VIII, Sect IX. Boil er and Pressure Vessel Code

BP G roup
GP 12-15 W ire and Cabl e
GP 12-20 Motors
GP 12-25 Eart hing/groundi ng
GIS 12-201 Low Volt age Motors (IEC )
GIS 12-202 Low Volt age Motors (NEMA)
GP 18-01 General R equirement s for Wel ded Fabrication
GP 30-25 Fiel d Inst rument ati on General
GP 30-35 Cont rol Valves and Pressure R egulators
GIS 34-00 Rotating and Machinery Equi pment
GIS 34-202 Hori zont al C entri fugal Pumps (AP I)
GIS 34-203 Vertical Cent ri fugal P umps (API)
GIS 34-211 Reci procating Pumps (AP I)
GIS 46-010 Pressure Vessels
GP 60-50 General Issues –Equi pment P ackages

National Electrical Manufacturers Association (NEMA)

Standards for Enclosures for El ect rical Equipment

National Fire Protection Association (NFPA)

NFPA 70 National Elect rical Codes
NFPA 493 Standards for Int rinsi call y Safe Apparatus
NFPA-496 Purged and Pressurized Encl osures for El ectri cal Equi pment

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Glycol Dehydration and Regeneration

3. Symbols and abbreviat ions

For t he purpose of thi s GP, the foll owing symbols and abbrevi ations apply:

MSDS Mat eri al S afety Data Sheet

PPE Personal Prot ective Equipment

TEG Tri-Ethyl ene Glycol

4. HSE

a. In the design and operation of t he Glycol Dehydrati on and R egeneration Syst em,
precauti ons shall be taken to mini mise human exposure to t he glycol.
b. Appropri at e action shall be t aken to avoid t he loss of glycol due t o leakage to t he
environment.
c. Precautions shall be t aken to ensure onl y essenti al and properly trai ned personnel equipped
wit h the proper PP E are allowed in areas where gl ycol is bei ng t ransferred or being drained
from t he system.

5. General design considerations

a. All rot ati ng equipment shall comply wit h:

1. GP 34-00,
2. GIS 34-202,
3. GIS 34-203,
4. GIS 34-211.
b. BP shall det ermine the appli cabl e requi rements in GP 60-50 and incl ude them in the
procurement document ation.
c. In general, the cont ract or's normal st andards shal l be used for the design and construction
of the unit, except where overri dden by standards referred to in this document or associ at ed
project document ation.
d. The contractor shall expli citly refer in hi s document ation to all applicabl e st andards used.
e. All pressure vessels shall compl y with American Societ y of Mechani cal Engi neers
(ASME) S ection VIII, S ect IX., Boil er and P ressure Vessel Code and BP GIS 46-010.
f. AP I St andard RP-E shall be applied duri ng t he desi gn and inst all ati on of pipi ng i f i nt ended
for use on offshore production plat forms.
g. W elding shall comply with GP 18-01.
h. The regeneration unit layout shall permit safe and effici ent operational access t o all valves
and instruments, e. g., without havi ng to step over small-bore pi ping or by providi ng
walkways over pipi ng.
i. Reasonabl e separation shall be maintai ned bet ween major vessel s, to permit operat or
access. Where thi s appli es, a mi nimum of 1.0 m (3.38 ft ) horizontal clearance must be
provi ded at the narrowest point of passage between the fittings on the vessel s.
j. The unit l ayout shall permit access for the following operations/ mai ntenance acti viti es
wit hout the need t o dismantl e pi pi ng or cabli ng on adj acent subsyst ems:
1. W ithdrawal of exchanger plat es/t ubes for cleaning,

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Glycol Dehydration and Regeneration

2. Repl acement of filter cartri dges,

3. Removal of glycol pumps for overhaul,
4. Removal of i nstrument s and automatic valves for overhaul,
5. Removal of other individual equi pment items for overhaul
k. The turndown requi rement stat ed within the data sheets shall be achi eved in addition to
meeti ng t he other unit performance requirements.
l. The regeneration unit desi gn shall be such as to mi nimi se glycol losses, and i n any case not
to exceed the l evels defi ned in t he dat a sheets. The t emperat ure of the regenerat or still
col umn exit gas shall be cooled to minimi ze gl ycol l osses.
m. The absorbent for wat er removal from gas shall be t ri-et hylene gl ycol (T EG) unl ess the
contract or can demonstrat e that an alternati ve medi um offers signi fi cant advant ages. This
speci fi cati on is based on the use of TEG.
If the gas compositi on cont ains aromati cs then account must be taken of this in the
design. Aromati cs are absorbed by the gl ycol and emitted as vapour from the
reboiler stripping col umn, which causes a hazard to platform personnel when it
emerges from the at mospheri c vent. If the aromatic compounds are at trace l evel, it
may be suffi cient to incl ude a condenser and recovery vessel in the gl ycol
regeneration unit. If the l evels are more significant, an alt ernati ve dryi ng process
such as DRIZ O (TM) may be required. The presence of aromatics does not
adversel y af fect dehydrati on performance - in fact, it enhances it.
n. The l ean gl ycol temperature at entry to the cont actor shall be such t hat the gl ycol in t he
contactor is at least 10°C (18ºF ) above the process gas inlet t emperature, in order to avoid
condensing any of t he gas and cool enough to mi nimise gl ycol losses.
o. The contacting medium for absorpti on of water from t he process gas shoul d normally be
struct ured packing. This is capabl e of hi gh effi ci ency and low turndown rat es.
Experi enced contract ors of structured packi ng currently i nclude Glit sch, Koch,
Munt z and Sulzer. The packing shoul d achieve a glycol flow density of 17 m3 /h per
m2 of tow er cross-secti onal are. A turndown t o 10% of design fl ow wit hout uneven
distri buti on of eit her gas or liquid may al so be achi eved.

6. M echanical design

6.1. Hea t Exchangers

a. Maxi mum economi c use shall be made of heat exchange bet ween the ri ch and l ean glycol.
b. A cleanli ness fact or of no more than 85% shall be appli ed to the cal cul ati on of the required
surface area for the glycol heat exchangers.

6.2. Filtration
a. In order to reduce foaming in t he cont actor, the unit shall i nclude filt ration units to remove:
1. Solid parti culates,
2. Gl ycol degradation products
b. The filt ers operat e best warm, and shall be placed downstream of the gl ycol heat exchanger
unl ess the cont ractor can demonst rat e overridi ng benefit s for an alt ernati ve location.
Some contractors put the filt ers upstream of the exchanger, because t he hot st ream
may have met all urgi cal i mpli cations in t he design of t he filter vessels. However, this
slight ly reduces t he filter eff ecti veness.

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29 February 2008 GP 47-10
Glycol Dehydration and Regeneration

c. The solid parti culate filt ers shall i nclude two full si zed units, arranged so that the cart ri dge
can be changed on the off-li ne filt er wit hout affecting unit operation.
Single-cartri dge t ype filt ers are pref erred, for ease of cartri dge repl acement.
d. Particl e removal performance shall be determined by t he need to prevent bl ockage or
buil d-up i n downst ream equipment.
e. Ten mi cron absolute rat ed filt ers shoul d be utili zed in the fi lter vessels.
f. The filt er for degradati on products should operat e on a slipstream of at l east 10% of the
glycol flow.
Soli d parti cl es in the gl ycol t end to bl ock the carbon filt er and it is beli eved t hat t hey
also promot e degradati on of the glycol by acting as nucl eati on sit es.

6.3. Relief Valv es/Systems

a. Fire reli ef devi ces shall be sized as per AP I RP 520.
b. The phase change in the flui d subj ected to fi re heat i nput, and t he phase of the fluid
passi ng through the relief valve, shoul d be considered when det ermining the reli ef rat e.
c. Relief faciliti es in the lower pressure-rat ed parts of the unit shall be sized to t ake account
of the maxi mum possi bl e rate of gas bl ow-by from areas of higher operating pressure, and
i f necessary t o take two-phase fl ow at this rate.
d. The rel ief syst em design basis must take account of t he dynamics of t he syst em.
e. All reli ef calcul ati ons must be avail abl e for inspection by B P.

6.4. Contac tor Tower

a. The contactor tower height and di amet er shall be t he minimum requi red for the dut y,
taki ng i nto account the best available data on t he performance of structured packing.
b. For correct fu nctioning of the cont actor, the inl et gas shall be free of liquid, either in bulk
form or in droplets. A li qui d scrubbing section shall be i ncluded in t his package. Desi gn of
the inl et device, the liquid coal escing devi ce, and certain internal dimensi ons in this
scrubbi ng secti on, whi ch have been developed wit h the aid of both laboratory and full-
scal e sit e t esti ng should be i ncorporated in this package. The essenti al paramet ers of t he
liquid scrubbing section shoul d therefore be given in the project data sheet.
c. A cont act or inl et vapour distributor will normally also be requi red, and will general ly t ake
the form of a perforat ed pi pe. Even where t his is not needed, tangenti al inlets shall not be
used, because t hey cause uneven distri buti on of vapour in the packing.
d. The contactor tower design shall be such as to minimise glycol losses. In particul ar, the
contactor column liquid di stri butor shoul d be designed so t hat the drip tubes ext end t o
wit hin approxi mat ely one met er above the packing surface (not the hold-down pl at e
surface).
This is to mi nimise the free fall of liquid glycol and hence the entrainment of liquid
dropl ets int o the outl et gas stream. Accept abl e losses of 25 litres per million sm3 of
gas processed (0.2 gal per MMSC F) have been quot ed i n the North Sea, but lower
figures may be achi evabl e. Cont act or tow er demister pads and cat ch pots have
tradit ionall y been specifi ed, but w hen usi ng struct ured packi ng wit h a properl y
designed liquid distributor, these should not be necessary.
e. The liqui d dist ributor shall be hydrauli call y tested by the contractor before deli very. The
vari ance bet ween the liquid outl et flows shall be less than 8% of the mean value.
Distri butor level t ol erances shall be the maxi mum accept abl e (verti cal out-of-level is 2
mm).

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Glycol Dehydration and Regeneration

f. Quali fi ed cont ractor supervisi on shall be provided for i nstall ati on of the cont actor tower
packing and for on-sit e levelling of the liquid distributor.
g. W here t he preferred doubl e-acting glycol pumps are not used, and t he draw-off is therefore
not from the li qui d gas i nterface, then a separat e draw-off point with manual val ve shoul d
be provided for periodi c disposal of any condensat e whi ch coll ects on t he glycol surface.
The draw-off nozzl e shoul d be a minimum of 40 mm (1.5 inch O.D.) bore.

6.5. Pumps
a. Double-acting, rich glycol driven pumps are preferred for glycol ci rculat ion, where
contactor pressure makes this feasi ble.
b. One fully operational spare gl ycol pump shall be provided
c. The contractor must st ate t he mi nimum gas pressure required i n the contact or tower t o
operat e the pumps, bot h wi th and without gl ycol in the tower.
These pumps can be supplied by Ki mray (USA), and offer the foll owi ng advantages:
no el ectri c power supply t o pump mot ors, no need for level controls or al arms/tri ps
at base of contactor tow er, reduced gas blow-by flow f or reli ef design. When no
process gas pressure is avail abl e to maint ain circulati on, nit rogen can be used.
d. The gl ycol pumps/ drivers shall be capable of achievi ng a reasonabl e circul ation rat e with
col d gl ycol at st art-up, t aki ng i nto account the viscosity of TEG at t emperat ures down to
-5°C (23ºF).
e. The contractor shall carry out a dynami c analysi s of the glycol pumping syst em to i denti fy
any need for pulsati on dampers.

6.6. Surge Drum

a. The gl ycol surge drum volume shall be no great er t han that needed to contai n vol ume
changes due to t hermal expansi on (from the ambient shutdown conditi on to maxi mum gas
throughput ) and glycol invent ory changes in the cont actor as gas flow i ncreases.
b. Hi gh and low l evel al arms should be set to maxi mise the useful volume of t he drum for a
given diameter.
Gl ycol i nventory should be mini mised, to reduce regeneration ti me aft er an upset.

6.7. Re boiler
a. Reboil er hi gh l evel inst rument ation shall be set high enough to avoi d spuri ous tri ps caused
by the effect of st ripping gas on reboil er level.
b. The regeneration unit shall be designed to mini mise gl ycol degradati on. In parti cul ar, the
reboil er t emperature controller must be capabl e of holding the gl ycol temperature st eady t o
wit hin ± 1°C (1.8 ºF ).
This is because t he opti mum TEG regeneration temperature is 204°C (399ºF), but
chemical degradati on of TEG st arts t o become si gnifi cant above 206°C (403ºF).
c. The still column will normally be provided wit h random packing.

6.8. Pipi ng
a. On-unit fl anging shoul d be mi nimi sed, but shall be provi ded on all equi pment it ems and
aut omatic valves.
b. Tapping poi nts shall be provided at t he lowest point on t he regenerati on unit (normally the
surge drum) for drawing off or filling with glycol.

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Glycol Dehydration and Regeneration

c. Rich and l ean glycol sampling points shall be provi ded adj acent t o the contactor. Where
pipi ng from t he contactor to the regenerati on unit is provided by the Purchaser, these
sampli ng points will also be provi ded by the Purchaser.
d. The appropriat e pi ping and gasket materials shall be used downst ream of the
depressuri zi ng val ves to handl e the low t emperat ures due to aut o-refrigeration.

7. Chemical injection

a. The unit shall i nclude provision for i nj ection of t he followi ng chemi cals:
1. Anti foam (emergency use onl y),
2. Corrosion inhibit or, and pH cont rol.
The latt er tw o funct ions may be combined in one chemical.
b. The degree of on-skid chemical inj ect ion provi sion (tanks, pumps, et c.) will be proj ect-
speci fi c and shall be described as necessary by BP in dat a sheet s.

8. Insulation

a. Insul ation for heat conservation purposes shoul d be confi ned to vessels only. Insulation for
personnel prot ecti on should be provi ded only where absolut ely necessary and where ot her
means of operat or prot ection are not pract icabl e.
b. In general, insul ati on of small-bore pi ping shoul d not be carried out by the cont ractor,
unl ess inst ruct ed otherwise by the purchaser.
Lagging tends to obstruct commissi oning acti viti es, and is frequently removed
anyw ay at thi s stage.

9. Instrum entation

a. All instrument ation shall comply with:

1. GP 30-25,
2. GP 30-35.
b. The unit shall be desi gned for automati c operati on and aut omati c safe shutdown wit hout
operat or int ervent ion.
c. Faciliti es (push-butt on) shall be provided for shutti ng down t he whol e unit safely from a
remot e location.
d. The contractor shall provide all local instrument ation which is necessary for normal
operat ions, st art -up and shutdown, plus those ext ra sensors or sensor insertion points whi ch
in his judgement are necessary to perform common diagnosti c tests, in the event of
operat ing upsets of the plant, without shutting down the pl ant.
No det ail ed stipul ations are made in t his Specifi cati on as to the i nstrument ation
requi red wit hin the regeneration unit, on t he basis that the sel ect ed contractor is
compet ent and experi enced i n the desi gn of gl ycol dehydrati on pl ants.
Any instrumentat ion whi ch is needed beyond the contractor's standard provisi on
will be discussed with t he contractor upon recei pt of the P&ID at the quotati on
stage, however additi onal instrumentati on is generall y to be di scouraged on cost
grounds.

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10. Electrical

a. El ectri cal and inst rumentation desi gn of the unit shal l be in accordance with t he general
Project requirements for contractor packages.
b. The foll owing elect rical st andards shall be adhered to:
1. GP 12-15,
2. GP 12-20,
3. GP 12-25,
4. GIS 12-201,
5. GIS 12-202,
6. NFP A 70,
7. NFP A 493,
8. NFP A 496,
9. National Elect ric Manufacturers Associ ati on (NEM A) St andards for Encl osures.

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