GlycolDehydrationforGasCompressorStation

Glycoldehydrationisaliquiddesiccantsystemfortheremovalofwaterfrom naturalgasandnaturalgasliquids(NGL).Itisthemostcommonandeconomical meansofwaterremovalfromthesestreams.Glycolstypicallyseeninindustry includetriethyleneglycol(TEG),diethyleneglycol(DEG),ethyleneglycol(MEG), andtetraethyleneglycol(TREG).TEGisthemostcommonlyusedglycolinindustry. Thepurposeofaglycoldehydrationunitistoremovewaterfromnaturalgasand naturalgasliquids.Whenproducedfromareservoir,naturalgasusuallycontains alargeamountofwaterandistypicallycompletelysaturatedoratthewaterdew point.Thiswatercancauseseveralproblemsfordownstreamprocessesand equipment.Atlowtemperaturesthewatercaneitherfreezeinpipingor,asis morecommonlythecase,formhydrateswithCO2andhydrocarbons(mainly methanehydrates).Dependingoncomposition,thesehydratescanformat relativelyhightemperaturespluggingequipmentandpiping.Glycoldehydration unitsdepressthehydrateformationpointofthegasthroughwaterremoval. Withoutdehydration,afreewaterphase(liquidwater)couldalsodropoutofthe naturalgasasitiseithercooledorthepressureisloweredthroughequipment andpiping.Thisfreewaterphasewilloftencontainsomeportionsofacidgas (suchasH2SandCO2)andcancausecorrosion. FortheabovetworeasonstheGasProcessorsAssociationsetsoutapipeline qualityspecificationforgasthatthewatercontentshouldnotexceed7pounds permillioncubicfeet.Glycoldehydrationunitsmusttypicallymeetthis specificationataminimum,althoughfurtherremovalmayberequiredif additionalhydrateformationtemperaturedepressionisrequired,suchas upstreamofacryogenicprocessorgasplant.

Processdescription
Lean,waterfreeglycol(purity>99%)isfedtothetopofanabsorber(alsoknown asa"glycolcontactor")whereitiscontactedwiththewetnaturalgasstream.The glycolremoveswaterfromthenaturalgasbyphysicalabsorptionandiscarried outthebottomofthecolumn.Uponexitingtheabsorbertheglycolstreamis oftenreferredtoas"richglycol".Thedrynaturalgasleavesthetopofthe absorptioncolumnandisfedeithertoapipelinesystemortoagasplant.Glycol absorberscanbeeithertraycolumnsorpackedcolumns. Afterleavingtheabsorber,therichglycolisfedtoaflashvesselwhere hydrocarbonvaporsareremovedandanyliquidhydrocarbonsareskimmedfrom theglycol.Thisstepisnecessaryastheabsorberistypicallyoperatedathigh pressureandthepressuremustbereducedbeforetheregenerationstep.Dueto thecompositionoftherichglycol,avaporphasehavingahighhydrocarbon contentwillformwhenthepressureislowered. Afterleavingtheflashvessel,therichglycolisheatedinacrossexchangerand fedtothestripper(alsoknownasaregenerator).Theglycolstripperconsistsofa column,anoverheadcondenser,andareboiler.Theglycolisthermally regeneratedtoremoveexcesswaterandregainthehighglycolpurity. Thehot,leanglycoliscooledbycrossexchangewithrichglycolenteringthe stripper.Itisthenfedtoaleanpumpwhereitspressureiselevatedtothatofthe glycolabsorber.Theleansolventiscooledagainwithatrimcoolerbeforebeing fedbackintotheabsorber.Thistrimcoolercaneitherbeacrossexchangerwith thedrygasleavingtheabsorberoranaerialtypecooler.

EnhancedStrippingMethods
Mostglycolunitsarefairlyuniformexceptfortheregenerationstep.Several methodsareusedtoenhancethestrippingoftheglycoltohigherpurities(higher puritiesarerequiredfordryergasoutoftheabsorber).Sincethereboiler temperatureislimitedto400Forlesstopreventthermaldegradationofthe

glycol,almostalloftheenhancedsystemscenteronloweringthepartialpressure ofwaterinthesystemtoincreasestripping. Commonenhancedmethodsincludetheuseofstrippinggas,theuseofavacuum system(loweringtheentirestripperpressure),theDRIZOprocess,whichissimilar totheuseofstrippinggasbutusesarecoverablehydrocarbonsolvent,andthe Coldfingerprocesswherethevaporsinthereboilerarepartiallycondensedand drawnoutseparatelyfromthebulkliquid.