CO2 capturing

process
Shankar Raman Dhanushkodi, PhD
MDEA plan
 • Alkanolamine Solvents
Chemical • Amine compounds formed from ammonia (NH3) by
replacing one or more of the hydrogen atoms with
absorption another hydrocarbon group.
• Mono ethanolamine (MEA) and diethanolamine (DEA), di
processes glycol-amine (DGA) and di iso-propanolamine (DIPA)
Chemical solvent process
• Acid gas absorption
• heat is required for solvent regeneration
• Amine  degradation by oxidation and high
temperatures
• Undesirable reactions with CO2, COS, and CS2
• Monoethanolamide (MEA)
• Aggressive and cheap
• remove both H2S and CO2 from gas streams
• irreversibly rxn with COS and CS2
• High Equilibrium losses
Chemical solvent process
• Diisopropanolamine (DIPA)
• secondary amine with reactivity similar to DEA
• Selectively remove H2S (at low pressures) or to remove both
CO2 and H2S (at higher pressures)
• Methyldiethanolamine (MDEA)
• widely used gas treating agent
• acidified with phosphoric, sulfuric, or other acids for lean
regeneration
• MDEA cannot react with CO2 by the carbamate reaction
• Low vapor pressure and solution losses
• low energy for solvent regeneration
• low corrosiveness, and resistance to degradation
Diglycolamine Unit
• Unit requires steam for solvent regeneration
• Major steam consumer in a gas plant
• Amine regenerator  heat rejection method to get rid of
steam
• sour feed gas to the amine unit
• filtered  pipe scales using an inlet filter separator
• cleaned  entrained liquids
• acid gas content in the feed gas aq.amine
• rich amine pressure let down thro amine flash drum
 Feed gas with low hydrocarbon content, and where steam
MDEA supply is limited.

process
• Two-stage amine absorption Steam Stripping

process
Flash generation
• Solvent regeneration by
pressure letdown
• Treating high-CO2- content
synthesis gas in ammonia
plants
• Gas contains H2, CO and CO2,
and H2S But not hydrocarbon
• No foaming
 Feed gas with low hydrocarbon content, and where steam
MDEA supply is limited.

process
• Expensive Steam Stripping

• Two absorption section

Flash generation
• Lean to semi lean operation
• Where do the lean/semi-lean solvent
come from?
• Why do you have two stage pressure
lean and semi-lean system?
• Steam
• Ratio of L/SL
• high – Stripping of
hydrocarbon and more
steam usage
• Low – improper stripping
Design guidelines:

• Amine circulating rate

• Amine concentrations
• Solvent stability
• Foaming tendency
• Corrosion rates
• unit performance
• Acid gas loading
• Amine can pick up more gases
• Low lean solvent recirculation
Foaming mitigation strategies

1 2 3 4
Maintain Skim hydrocarbons Frequent change-out Remove heat-stable
temperature from the rich amine of particulate filters salts
between the lean flash drum and and carbon filters • purging, caustic addition,
amine and the feed reflux drum and reclamation.
gas,