People's Democratic Republic of Algeria Ministry of Higher Education

and Scientific Research

University Kasdi Merbah Ouargla

Faculty of Hydrocarbons and Renewable Energies and

Science of the Earth and the Universe

Academic Master

Field : Hydrocarbons
Speciality : Production
Term : Traitment de gaz

Prepared by :

- Mebarki Aimen
- Lazreg Mohamed Soufian
- Gacem Okba

- Theme -
The Science Technology to Further Enhance Oil Recovery
Membrane & Amine Technology
(Résumé)

Directed by :
Mrs.Robei

2020/2021
 Acid Gas

Acid gas is a particular typology of natural gas or any

other gas mixture containing significant quantities of hydrogen
sulfide (H2S), carbon dioxide (CO2), or similar acidic gases.
The term/s acid gas and sour gas are often incorrectly treated as synonyms.
Strictly speaking, a sour gas is any gas that specifically contains hydrogen
sulfide in significant amounts; an acid gas is any gas that contains significant
amounts of acidic gases such as carbon dioxide (CO2) or hydrogen sulfide.
Thus, carbon dioxide by itself is an acid gas but not a sour gas.
Before a raw natural gas containing hydrogen sulfide and/or carbon dioxide
can be used, the raw gas must be treated to reduce impurities to acceptable
levels and this is commonly done with an amine gas treating process The
removed H2S is most often subsequently converted to by-product
elemental sulfur in a Claus process or alternatively converted to
valuable sulfuric acid in a WSA Process unit.
Processes within oil refineries or natural-gas processing plants that
remove mercaptans and/or hydrogen sulfide are commonly referred to as
'sweetening' processes because they result in products which no longer have the
sour, foul odors of mercaptans and hydrogen sulfide.
Hydrogen sulfide is a toxic gas. It also restricts the materials that can be used
for piping and other equipment for handling sour gas, as many metals are
sensitive to sulfide stress cracking.
Carbon dioxide at concentrations of 7% to 10.1% cause dizziness, headache,
visual and hearing dysfunction, and unconsciousness within a few minutes to
an hour. Concentrations above 17% are lethal when exposed for more than one
minute.
 Advanced Amine Technology

Low purity CO2 raw gas is sourced from combustion of fossil fuel, lime, or
cement kilns and requires an upgrading unit to make it feasible for use in a
CO2 liquefaction unit.

Low purity raw gas has a CO2 concentration less than 10–12 percent. By
utilizing Union’s absorption and stripping technologies you can turn a low
purity raw gas to a 99%+ high quality CO2 gas. This stream can either be used
directly in gaseous form or be further purified and liquefied to meet the
strictest requirements for food and beverage grade carbon dioxide in
accordance with specifications from regulators like the International Society of
Beverage Technologists (ISBT).

The capture technology (up-grading unit) from Union Engineering is based on

the most well-proven absorption technology currently available on the market,
namely high concentrated 35% merchant Mono Ethanol Amine (MEA). Due to
the high MEA concentration the MEA circulations rates are 4 times less
compared to a traditional low conc. MEA extraction system. MEA is a primary
amine that reacts readily with carbon dioxide. Since the reaction is purely
chemical absorption, it works well with gas streams having low partial
CO2 pressure, as is the case for flue gases.

Unique and patented technologies allow Oxygen concentrations up to as much

as 15% in the flue gas without degrading the amine.

The reclaimer design efficiently removes the heat stable salts which are
formed when amine reacts with the flue gas. Accordingly no corrosion
inhibitor is required to run our plant safely. Risk of corrosion is eliminated and
degradation of amine is reduced to a minimum.

If other impurities like SOx and NOx are present these are removed utilizing
dedicated technologies and/or process designs developed by Union
Engineering, e.g the patented NOx Flash and the SCR DENOX.

Every process plant we design is highly customized and specifically designed

in order to meet any client specification.

The plants are supplied with fully customized PLC system, Operator
Interphase (HMI systems) and DCS systems, upon request.
In summary the Advanced Amine Technology advantages are:

• Low pressure streams.

• High CO2 reaction rate.
• Tolerate high oxygen content.
• Non corrosive.
• High CO2 loading.
• Low circulation rates.
• Low energy demand for re-generation.
• Low total energy demand.

Membrane Technology
There are various membrane technologies available in the marketplace today
to tailor water quality to the specific needs of an enhanced oil recovery (EOR)
operation. Membrane technology has been proven and used offshore in the
sulphate removal process (SRP) since DOW Filmtec and Marathon first
introduced the membrane system in 1991. By the end of 2008, SRP systems
were installed on over 44 offshore production facilities around the world.

The changing needs of the oil and gas industry are dictating the development
of new technologies and the application of proven technology in novel ways to
meet the industry demand. These new applications and technologies have the
potential to impact production on a global scale. For instance, optimizing water
chemistries throughout a CEOR flood by carefully choosing membrane and
polishing technologies can favorably change CEOR project economics and
therefore further enhance oil recovery by expanding the number of reservoirs
globally in which CEOR is economically attractive.

This paper will discuss what can be achieved with today's technology and the
results from recent pilot testing of RO technology adapted from brackish water
applications to be used to selectively remove ions for seawater-based EOR
applications.

Membrane technology is the latest concept to make waves in the oil refining
sector, with research from the Georgia Institute of Technology suggesting it
could be used to slash energy use and emissions. Developed by a team of
Georgia Tech researchers, the innovative polymer membrane technology has
the potential to replace widely used heat-based distillation processes and help
the energy industry transition towards cleaner, more eco-friendly practices. The
research was supported by scientists at Imperial College London and
ExxonMobil, with early laboratory testing delivering promising results.
 Currently, the heat-based and hugely energy-intensive distillation techniques
used to fractionate crude oil account for around 1% of total global energy use.
This equates to a huge 1100 terawatt-hours per year. By incorporating low-
energy membranes into the process, the technology could drastically reduce
energy consumption and emissions. Simultaneously, it would support the
development of new, more energy-efficient hybrid refining systems.
“Much in our modern lives comes from oil, so the separation of these
molecules makes our modern civilisation possible,” says M.G. Finn, a
professor at the Georgia Tech School of Chemistry and Biochemistry. “The
scale of the separation required to provide the products we use is incredibly
large. This membrane technology could make a significant impact on global
energy consumption and the resulting emissions of petroleum processing.”

Already utilised in applications such as wastewater treatment and seawater

desalination, membrane technology is an efficient way to filter, extract and
distil. While in the past petroleum refining has been too complex a process for
membrane technology, the new technique pushes boundaries with a
sophisticated spirocyclic polymer. When applied to a durable substrate, the
spirocyclic polymer formed a low-energy membrane capable of fractionating

complex hydrocarbon mixtures when exposed to pressure.

The findings were reported in the journal Science, with the team saying the
low-energy membrane technology could revolutionise the way crude oil and
crude-oil fractions are separated. While more research and development is
required to industrialise the new process, the team is confident it has big
potential.

“We worked extensively with ExxonMobil and Georgia Tech to demonstrate

the scalability potential of this technology to the levels required by the
petroleum industry,” says Andrew Livingston, a professor of chemical
engineering at Imperial College London.

Methane is one of the most concerning chemical compounds emitted by the

oil and gas industry.
 Acid Gaz Removal

Sulfur contaminant and CO2 removal typically occurs in the process referred
to as the Acid Gas Removal (AGR) unit. In most syngas production systems,
sulfur contaminants are in the form of Hydrogen Sulfide (H2S) and/or
Carbonyl Sulfide (COS). The purpose of the AGR is to 1) remove the sulfur
contaminants from the syngas to a level compatible with the requirements of
downstream catalyst systems, to comply with plant environmental permits,
and 2) selectively remove CO2 in order to provide a pure stream of another
syngas constituent (such as H2) or when the CO2 is the desired product stream
for use in other processes such as enhanced oil recovery, chemical
production, and refrigeration applications.

The most common technologies for acid gas removal are cyclic, regenerable,
solvent absorption processes. In these processes, a liquid solvent is counter-
currently contacted with the syngas in an absorption tower to selectively
remove the H2S and/or the CO2. It is then thermally regenerated in a stripping
tower to liberate the acid gases, while rejuvenating the solvent to begin the
absorption cycle again. There are four generic types of acid gas removal
solvents:

• Chemical solvents are aqueous bases that undergo reversible acid-base

reactions with the H2S and CO2 after they hydrolyze in water to weak
acids. The absorption processes typically operate at room temperature.
o Examples: methanolamine (MEA), methyl-diethanolamine
(MDEA)
• Physical solvents are polar molecules that have positive and negatively
charged portions that “attract” the polar H2S and CO2 molecules (no
chemical reaction; polar bonding). The absorption processes typically
operate at low temperatures and require cooling or refrigeration.
o Example processes: Selexol™, Rectisol®, Purisol®, Morphysorb®
• Physical-chemical or mixed solvents are mixtures of chemical and
physical solvents, which combine the features of the first two types.
Cooling or refrigeration may be required for the absorption processes.
o Example processes: Sulfinol®, Amisol™
• Oxidative solvents react with the H2S and oxidize it to elemental sulfur
in the solution. The sulfur is recovered as a solid.
o Example processes: Sulferox™, Lo-Cat®