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Gas Dehydration

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Mohaymen Alutbi
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Gas
Dehydration

University of Thi-Qar
College of Engineering
14/4/2020
Mohaymen Alutbi
 Gas Dehydration

Gas Dehydration
Water is almost always accompanied with hydrocarbons and there will always be a
requirement for dehydrating a gas or liquid to reduce the water content to an acceptable
limit so that the water stays in gas phase and thus the water phase separation that
causes corrosion or line blockage by forming stable hydrates are avoided. The
acceptable limit of water content as well as the dehydration method depends on the
intended use of the gas. If the produced or treated gas is to be transmitted in
transmission lines for domestic use, a water content of 6-10 lb/MMscf (96-
160kg/MMm3) giving a gas dew point of 15-29 °F (-2 to -9°C) is normally sufficient.
Whereas for a gas injection back into the reservoir in a deep cold sea and/or with a high
pressure drop across the injection choke valve, a dew point of less than -40°F (-40°C)
may be found necessary to avoid separation of water phase from the gas and hydrate
formation.
The methods used for gas dehydration are absorption, adsorption, membrane processes
and refrigeration. The methods may be used by themselves or be combined to reach the
desired water contents.
In dehydration by absorption water is removed by a liquid with strong affinity for
water, glycols being the most common. The lean (dry) glycol removes the water from
the gas in an absorption column known as a contactor. After the contactor the rich (wet)
glycol must be regenerated before it can be reused in the contactor. The regeneration is
done by distilling the glycol thus removing the water. With glycol absorption it is
possible to lower the water contents down to approximately 10 ppmvol, depending on
the purity of the lean glycol. Gas dehydration by glycol absorption will be treated more
thoroughly in section (Right Figure).
Dehydration by adsorption is done with a two-bed system, where the beds are filled
with adsorbents e.g. silica gel. The gas is lead through one of the adsorbers, where
water is removed. Meanwhile the other adsorber is regenerated by blowing hot dry gas
through it, this gas is then cooled and the water condenses. The Water is separated off
and the gas is lead back to the wet gas (Left Figure).

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 Gas Dehydration

The efficiency of the adsorption process depends on the adsorbent used; there are
several types of adsorbents available. The most efficient adsorbents are molecular
sieves, this is alum inosilicates that have been altered to improve the adsorption
characteristics, achieving a water contents as low as below 0.1 ppmvol.
In membrane processes the gas passes through a membrane that separates of the water.
Membrane processes yields water content between 20-100 ppmvol. The problem with
membrane processes are that they only become economically viable compared to
63 glycolabsorptionatflowsbelow1.5·10 Nm/d(56MMscfd).
Gas dehydration by refrigeration is a low-cost dehydration method. Water condenses
when the gas is cooled; the water is then removed in a separator. The separation
method can be conducted numerous times. The method is most efficient at high
pressure. The amount of water removed in the refrigeration process is often insufficient.
Because of the low cost the refrigeration process is often used before the other
dehydration processes.
The two most efficient dehydration methods are absorption and adsorption. Absorption
with glycol is the preferred dehydration method because it is more economical than ad-
sorption. This is due to the following differences between absorption and adsorption:
• Adsorbent is more expensive than glycol.
• It requires more energy to regenerate adsorbent than glycol.
• Replacing glycol is much cheaper than replacing an adsorption bed.
• Glycol can be changed continuously, while changing an adsorption bed requires a
shutdown.
Some low temperature treatment like liquefaction requires water content below what
glycol plants can achieve. In these cases, an adsorption plant is required, to minimize
the cost this can be combined with a glycol plant that removes the majority of the water.

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 Gas Dehydration

References

• Dan Laudal Christensen. K10 – Aalborg University Esbjerg. Gas

Dehydration and Thermodynamic Simulation of Glycol/Water
Mixture, 2009.
• Michal Netušil and Pavel Ditl. Natural Gas – Extraction to End Use.
• Hassan A.A. Farag. Mustafa Mohamed Ezzat. Hoda Amer b. Adel
William Nashed. Natural Gas Dehydration by Desiccant Materials,
2011.
• Bjorn Kristian Neumann and Tor Olav Seltveit. Minox Technology.
New Compact Gas Dehydration Technology. Offshore Technology
Conference, 2019. OTC-29810-MS.
• Reza Salamat. Qatar Petroleum. Gas Dehydration Offshore or
Onshore, How, How Much and Design Tips. Society of Petroleum
Engineers, 2012. SPE 154134.

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