Acid Gas Removal Design Criteria

From “Gas Purification”; Kohl & Nielsen, 5th Edition

Column Diameter
After establishing the liquid and gas flow rates, the column operating conditions, and the
physical properties of the two streams, the required diameters of both the absorber and
stripping column can be calculated by conventional techniques. For packed towers,
correlations of the type proposed by Sherwood et al. (1938), and later modified and
improved by Elgin and Weise (1939): Lobo et al. (1944), Zenz and Eckert (1961), Kister
and Gill (1991), and others, have proven to be satisfactory for amine solutions. Pressure
drop and flooding data for proprietary packing designs are available from the
manufacturers. Additional information on the design of packed towers is given in
Chapter 1, and the subject is covered in detail by Strigle (1994). It is usually necessary to
use a conservative safety factor in conjunction with published packing correlations
because of the possibility of foaming and solids deposition in gas treating applications.

The determination of tray column diameters is also discussed in Chapter 1 and covered in
detail in standard chemical engineering texts such as Perry’s Chemical Engineer’s
Handbook (1963) and the Handbook of separation Process Technology (Fair, 1987).
Data on proprietary tray designs are normally supplied by the manufacturers.

Figure 2-79 is a highly simplified chart for estimating the required diameters for tray-type
amine plant contactors. Similar charts are provided by Maddox (1985). Manning and
Thompson (1991) suggest using the Souders-Brown equation (Chapter 1, equation 1-22)
with an empirical constant of 0.25, reducing the gas velocity by 25 to 35% to avoid jet
flooding and by 158 to allow for foaming. They also suggest limiting the liquid velocity
in the downcomers to 0.25 ft/sec. The stripping column diameter can be determined by
the same procedures as used for the absorber. Maddox (1985) provides approximate
diameter (and height or length) requirements for the stripping column and other
regeneration system vessels as a function of the amine solution flow rate.
Column Height
Experience-Based Height Determination
Column heights for amine plant absorbers and strippers are usually established on the
basis of experience with similar plants. Almost all installations that utilize primary or
secondary amines for essentially complete acid gas removal are designed with about 20
trays (or a packed height equivalent to 20 trays) in the absorber. In bulk acid gas removal
applications, experience has shown that if a 20-tray column is supplied with sufficient
amine so that the rich solvent leaving the absorber has an acid gas loading that is 75 to
80% of the equilibrium value, then the amine on the upper 5 to 10 absorber trays is very
close to equilibrium with the H2S in the treated gas leaving these trays. Therefore, in
these circumstances, the H2S content of the treated gas is independent of the absorber
design and depends only on the lean amine temperature and the amine regenerator
performance. Absorbers with 20 trays can usually meet all common treated gas CO2
specifications; however, more than 20 trays may be required if CO2 in the treated gas is
to be close to equilibrium with the lean amine. Therefore, in applications such as
synthesis gas treating, where it is advantageous to reduce the CO2 content of the treated
gas to very low levels, absorbers containing more than 20 trays or the equivalent height
of packing are often specified.

As previously noted, in typical 20-tray absorbers, the bulk of the acid gas is absorbed in
the bottom half of the column, while the top portion serves to remove the last traces of
acid gas and reduce its concentration to the required product gas specification. With
sufficient trays and amine, the ultimate purity of the product gas is limited by equilibrium
with the lean solution at the product gas temperature. When water washing is necessary
to minimize amine loss (e.g., with low-pressure MEA absorbers), two to four additional
trays are commonly installed above the acid gas absorption section. A high efficiency
mist eliminator is recommended for the very top of the absorber to minimize carryover of
amine solution or water. Stripping columns commonly contain 12 to 20 trays below
the feed point and two to six trays above the feed to capture vaporized amine. Split
stream plants obviously require more trays. One unit, for example, employs a total of 33
trays in the stripping column with chimney trays at the base and at the seventeenth tray
from the bottom (Bellah et al., 1949). The less volatile amines, such as DEA and MDEA,
require fewer trays above the feed point to achieve adequate recovery of amine vapors.
Typical DEA and MDEA stripping columns use two to four trays, while MEA
systems use four to six trays above the feed point. Equilibrium conditions alone would
indicate that the above numbers are overly conservative; however, the trays above the
feed point serve to remove droplets of amine solution, which may be entrained by
foaming or jetting action, as well as amine vapor.
(Art’s Note: I never used any trays ABOVE the stripper feed point.)