GAS PLANT

Instructor: LE Thi Nhu Y, Ph.D

EMERGENCY EVACUATION INSTRUCTION

Whenever you hear the building alarm or are informed of a
general building emergency:
Leave the building immediately, in an orderly fashion
Do not use elevators
Follow quickest evacuation route from where you are
If the designated assembly point/area is unsafe or blocked due to
the emergency, proceed to the alternate assembly point
Report to your Work Area Rep at the assembly point to be
checked off as having evacuated safely

Specific safety requirements for TODAY

Today: NO testing of fire alarm systems

2/169

COURSE OBJECTIVES
When you complete this module you will be able:
To grasp the role of gas plant in the refinery

To describe the sat and unsat gas processing unit

To grasp the different types of amines: advantages and
disadvantages
To select an amine from the various types available and
calculate amine circulation rates required
How to handle the operation of units, interaction and
challenges encountered

3/169

COURSE PLAN

Total duration: 5 days

Lecture: 3 days
Practice on dynamic simulator: 2 days

4/169

COURSE ASSESSMENT
Lecture:

The multiple-choice (knowledge based questions) section of the test

is scored based on the number of questions you answered correctly

Multi-choice test : 40 questions

Passing grade: 36/ 40

No additional points are subtracted for questions answered

incorrectly

Even if you are uncertain about the answer to a question, it is better

to guess than not to respond at all

Dynamic simulator:

Passing grade: Implement an extract operation procedure for 10

minutes and troubleshoot successfully 2 scenarios in simulator
5/169

OUTLINE

I. Refinery gas treating process

II. Gas processing plant
III. Practice on dynamic simulator

6/169

PART I.
REFINERY GAS TREATING PROCESS
1. Introduction
2. The role and location of gas plant in refinery
3. Product treatment plant
4. LPG drying unit

5. Sweetening processes
6. LPG Fractionation plant
7. The distillation of the Light Ends from crude oil
8. SAT gas processing plant
9. UNSAT gas processing plant
7/169

1. Introduction
Crude Distillation Unit (CDU) main feedstock for gas recovery
Residue Fluid Catalytic Cracking Unit (RFCC)
Hydrotreater Unit (naphtha, kerosene, diesel, VGO)

Continuous Catalytic Reforming Unit (CCR)

Delayed Coking Unit
Isomerization Unit
Other units

GAS PLANT
Types of gas?
8/169

1. Introduction
Types of gas
According to the source of gas:

Gas obtained from the distillation

Gas obtained from the processing

According to the chemical composition:

Saturated gas: CDU, CCR, HTU

Unsaturated gas: FCC, Coking

According to the acid gas content:

Sour gas:
H2S > 1 % vol or CO2 > 2 % vol
Sweet gas:
H2S 1 % vol and CO2 2 % vol
H2S and CO2 may accumulate in dangerous concentrations
in drains, vessels and tanks

9/169

1. Introduction
When fractionation saturated gas Products
Fraction

Application

Methane, ethane

Fuel gas
Refrigerant

Propane

Feedstock for Liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) process

Refrigerant

i-butane

Alkylation process
Rubber production

n-butane

Butadiene production
Feedstock for LPG process
Gasoline blending

i-pentane

Rubber production
Gasoline blending (high octane number, RON = 92.3)

n-pentane

Isomerization process

10/169

1. Introduction

When fractionation unsaturated gas Products

Fraction
Propane; propylene

Application
Polymerization process
Alkylation process
Petrochemical raw materials

Butane; butylene

Alkylation process
Poly isobutylene production
Rubber production ...

Ethane; ethylene; pentane

Petrochemical raw materials

11/169

2. The role and location of gas plant in refinery

The role of gas plant is:
Collecting

gas from the various units for other purposes

Processing which depends on the feed, product and specific

Separating

purpose, and the demand of each refinery

Location of the gas recovery plant can differ in the refinery,

depends on the different purposes of the refineries

12/169

2. The role and location of gas plant in refinery

Saturated gas

Unsaturated gas

13/169

3. Product treatment plant

Residual
water

Propane and
butane

Treatment process?

Treatment
a twin fixed-bed
molecular sieve

Product
specifications

Sulphur
compounds

14/169

3. Product treatment plant

Molecular Sieve Product Treating Process Operating Conditions

Operating variable
Pressure

Temperature
Phase

Units

Propane

Butane

Bar

22.4

10.7

0C

43.3

43.3

Liquid

Liquid

15/169

22.4
15.2
10.7
4.6

43.3
16/51

3. Product treatment plant

Typical Contaminant Level in Untreated LPG
Contaminants

Units

Propane

Butane

H2O

wt ppm

10

Trace

H 2S

wt ppm

100

Trace

COS

wt ppm

34

Trace

CH3SH

wt ppm

100

40

C2H5SH

wt ppm

Trace

220

17/169

Saudi Aramco product specification / refrigerated

Propane LPG

Saudi Aramco product specification / refrigerated

Butane LPG

Remove Residual water + Sulphur compounds

4. LPG DRYING UNIT

1. Purpose: Reduce water content in the Refinery LPG
product in order to meet final product commercial

specification before sending to product storage

2. Feedstock:
C3 Stream from

C3 Stream from

C3 Stream from

Delayed Cocker Unit

Hydrocracking Unit

FCC Unit

Extractive sweetening
Source

with COS removal

followed by C3/C4
fractionation section

Water Content

Saturated in water

Caustic treatment

Caustic treatment

followed by C3/C4

followed by C3/C4

fractionation section

fractionation section

Saturated in water

Saturated in water

20/169

4. LPG DRYING UNIT

The LPG Drying Unit includes:
Propane Dryer Beds (Adsorber)
Propane Regeneration Section (Heater, cooler and
associated facilities) (Desorber)

Propane transfer pump to storage

21/169

4. LPG DRYING UNIT

Most commonly used method for LPG drying is adsorption
The adsorption method is capable of drying and
sweetening simultaneously?
Molecule Diameter, Ao

Zeolite 4A or 5A

H2O
H2S

2.75
4.1

CO2
C3
C4

4.7
6.3
6.5

The LPG Drying Unit includes:

Propane Dryer Beds (Adsorber)
Propane Regeneration Section (Heater, cooler and
associated facilities) (Desorber)
Propane transfer pump to storage

22/169

Process flow diagrams (PFD)

23/169

Process flow diagrams (PFD)

24/169

Dehydration by adsorption
2

1 : Desorption
2 : Adsorption
: Close valve
: Open valve

25/39

5. Sweetening processes

Corrosive
material

To prevent the effect

of corrosion in
process equipment,
H2S concentration
must be < 43 ppm

remove H2S + mercaptans

(RSH) from refinery streams

The predominant sulphur compounds

H2S

RSH

have an unpleasant smell

Corrosive and disturb the fuel stability
due to gum formation

Highly
toxic

Safety limit of H2S in

working area is
usually < 20 ppm

26/169

5. Sweetening processes

a. H2S removal
Absorption by amine
Adsorption same principle of gas drying

b. Sulfur recovery Claus process

c. Mercaptan removal Merox process

27/169

a. H2S removal

Absorption of Acid Gases by Amines

Typical H2S
removal plant
in a refinery

5. Acid gas processing and mercaptans removal

Absorption of Acid Gases by Amines

The most commonly used amines in gas treating: MEA, DEA, MDEA

DEA is much less corrosive to carbon steel and less volatile than MEA

MDEA is much less reactive than either DEA or MEA

The reactions take place in the DEA process:

H2S + R2NH R2NH2+ +HS-

CO2 + 2R2NH R2NCOO- + R2NH2+

CO2 + H2O + R2NH R2NH2+

29/169

Comparison of amine solvents

Primary amine

Secondary
amine

Tertiary amine

Chemical formula

Type

MEA

DEA

MDEA

61

105

119

Solvent wt% in solution

1520

2035

4055

Circulation (gal/mol AG)

100165

60125

65110

Steam (lb/gal)

1.01.2

0.91.1

0.91.1

Max. AG flow (m3/d)

70,000

14,000

40,000

Molecular weight

H2S/CO2 selectivity

Counter-current absorption of Acid Gases by Amines

Process description?

The preliminary process flow sheet for a MEA

treating plant

b. Sulphur Recovery Claus Unit

Feedstock: Acid gas streams (contain H2S)
Purpose: Reduce the sulphur dioxide (SO2) emissions in order to
meet environmental guidelines
Gases with an H2S content of over 25% are suitable for the

recovery of sulphur in the Claus process.

The main reaction:
2H2S + O2 2S + 2H2O H = - 186.6kJ/mol

33/169

Thermal section

Air to the acid gas is

controlled such that 1/3 of
all H2S is converted to SO2

In the thermal stage of Claus process, if more

oxygen is added, the occurred reaction is:
2H2S + 3O2 2SO2 + 2H2O

Catalytic section

Thermal section

Catalytic section

2H2S+O2 2S+2H2O, H = - 186.6kJ/mol

H =-518 kJ/mol
Highly exothermic

H =-41,8 kJ/mol

Over 2.6 tons of steam will

be generated / ton of S yield

Heating is necessary to prevent

sulphur condensation in the catalyst
bed avoid catalyst fouling

Activated alumina or
titanium dioxide is used

A typical Claus process with 2 catalytic stages

yields 96% of the S in the input stream

The catalytic conversion is

maximized at lower T, but
above the dew point of S

Typical two bed Claus process catalytic converter vessel

b. Sulphur Recovery Claus Unit

If the acid gas feed contains COS and/or CS2, they are
hydrolyzed at high temperature:
COS + H2O H2S + CO2

CS2 + 2H2O 2H2S + CO2

38/169

b. Sulphur Recovery Claus Unit

Tail Gas Clean Up

The residual gas from the Claus process is commonly called tail gas
The tail gas still containing combustible components and
sulphur compounds (H2S, H2 and CO) is either burned in an
incineration unit or further desulphurized in a downstream tail
gas clean-up unit (TGCU):
2H2S + SO2 3S + 2H2O
Incinerating the residual H2S after sulphur recovery produces SO2.
Therefore, further sulphur recovery is done for the tail gases.
TGCU process can reduce SO2 to 0.15 vol% and H2S to 0.3 vol%.

39/169

Typical Tail gas clean-up scheme

40/169

c. Mercaptans Removal

The principle of mercaptans removal is oxidation (called

MEROX process)
The catalytic oxidation of RSH in the presence of O2
and alkalinity:

Air provides the O2

Caustic soda provides the alkalinity

41/169

Role of MEROX in a refinery

42/169

c. Mercaptans Removal

Mercaptans Removal

The equilibrium occurs between the RSH oily phase and the RSH

that dissolves in the aqueous phase

Extraction equilibrium is favoured by lower molecular weight
mercaptans and lower temperatures

The feedstock is passed through a caustic prewash to reduce the

acid
The operating pressure is chosen to assure that the air required for

sweetening is completely dissolved at the operating temperature

Sand filter containing a simple bed of coarse sand: remove free
water and a portion of the dissolved water from the product

43/169

Conventional Merox
process unit for
extracting mercaptans
from LPG

To remove any H2S

that would interfere
with the sweetening

Extraction equilibrium is favoured by

lower MW mercaptans and lower T

The sweetened LPG exits the tower and flows through:

- a caustic settler vessel to remove any entrained caustic,
- a water wash vessel to further remove any residual entrained caustic
- a vessel containing a bed of rock salt to remove any entrained water.

The oxidizer vessel has a packed bed to favorize this reaction.

The caustic-RSSR mixture then flows into the separator vessel:
a lower layer of "lean" Merox caustic and an upper layer of
RSSR. The vertical section of the separator is for the
disengagement and venting of excess air and includes
a Raschig ring section to prevent entrainment of any RSSR in
the vented air. The RSSR are withdrawn from the separator and
routed to fuel storage or to a hydrotreater unit.

Conventional Merox process unit for sweetening jet

fuel or kerosene

c. Mercaptans Removal
Kerosene MEROX
The conventional version of this process uses air and caustic soda
(NaOH) to sweeten kerosene feedstock
The caustic soda pre-wash to reduce the naphthenic acids
Air is injected into the feedstock upstream of the reactor
The operating pressure is chosen to assure that the air required

for sweetening will be completely dissolved at the operating

temperature
The water wash removes trace quantities of caustic soda and

water soluble surfactant.

49/169

6. LPG Fractionation plant

Deethanizer

Depropanizer

Debutanizer

50/169

C2
Partial
or total
Partial
condenser
condenser?

4.(-6.67C)
LPG Fractionation plant
( ? C)

26.9
?
bar

C1 C10/11

Deethanizer

C3+

98% of the C3 in the deethanizer

feed is recovered in the bottom
product:

= %

The bottom product contains 0.8
mole % C
51/169

C2

Total condenser

Total condenser

4. LPG Fractionation plant

C3
C4

26.9
bar

20
bar

7.6
bar

C1 C10/11

C3
Deethanizer

C4+

C5+

Depropanizer Debutanizer

52/169

7. The distillation of the Light Ends from crude oil

The light ends unit is the only process in a refinery configuration that is
designed to separate almost pure components from the crude oil, in
particularly, the butanes and propanes to satisfy a market of portable
cooking fuel and industrial fuels.
That these products can be suitably compressed and stored in small, easily
handled containers at ambient temperatures p
The introduction of the No Lead in gasoline program during the late 1960s
set the scene for the need of Octane sources additional to the Aromatics
provided by high severity catalytic reforming.

A source of such high-octane additives is found in some isomers of C4 and

C5 the need for light end processes which included the separation of i-C4
from the C4 stream and also i-C5 from the light naphtha stream.

53/169

7. The distillation of the Light Ends from crude oil

54/169

7. The distillation of the Light Ends from crude oil

The light ends of crude oil is considered as those fractions in the crude
that have a boiling point below cyclo-hexane.
The light ends distillation units however include the separation of the light
naphtha cut, which is predominately pentanes and cyclopentanes, from
heavy naphtha which contains the hexanes and heavier hydrocarbons
necessary for the catalytic reformer feed.
The feed to the light ends distillation process is usually the full range
naphtha distillate from the atmospheric crude distillation unit overhead
condensate drum.

In many cases the distillates from stabilizing cracker and reformer

products are added to the crude unit overhead distillate to be included in
the light end unit feed.

55/169

7. The distillation of the Light Ends from crude oil

In this configuration the total feed to the unit is debutanized in
the first tower. The C4s and lighter HC are totally condensed and

collected in the columns overhead drum. Part of this condensate is

returned to the tower top tray as reflux.
The remainder is routed to a depropanizer column. The bottom

product from the debutanizer is the full range naphtha product.

This enters a naphtha splitter column where it is fractionated to give
an overhead distillate of LN and a bottom product of HN.

The de-propanizer separates the debutanizer overhead distillate to

give a C3 fraction as an overhead distillate stream and the C4
fraction as the bottom product.

56/169

7. The distillation of the Light Ends from crude oil

The overhead distillate is fractionated in a de-ethanizer column to produce a
rich propane stream (propane LPG) as the bottom product.
The overheads from this column is predominately hydrocarbons lighter than
propane.
This stream is only partially condensed to provide reflux for the tower.
The uncondensed vapor is normally routed to the refinerys fuel gas system.
The products from the light ends unit are as follows:
Naphtha SplitterLight Naphtha (overhead distillate)
Heavy Naphtha (bottom productReformer feed)

De-propanizerButane LPG (bottom product)

De-ethanizerPropane LPG (bottom product)
Fuel Gas (overhead vapor).

57/169

7. The distillation of the Light Ends from crude oil

Cold feed
The condition of the feed entering the tower is very important to
the tower operation. Ideally the feed should enter the tower at
as close to a calculated feed tray temperature as possible.
If the feed is well below its bubble point on entering the tower,
several trays below the feed tray are taken up for heat transfer
before effective mass transfer can begin.
This could prevent the specified product separation occurring and
tray efficiency in this section of the tower falls off dramatically.

58/169

7. The distillation of the Light Ends from crude oil

Hot feed
This situation is probably the more serious regarding feed condition. If
the feed enters at a temperature far above its bubble point its resulting
enthalpy will be such as to reduce the reboiler duty.
This will occur automatically as the tower must always be in heat
balance. The tower controls will maintain the product quantity and split.
However, if the reboiler duty is drastically reduced insufficient stripper
vapors will be available for the stripping function Poor separation will
result. As a rule of thumb the stripping vapor to the bottom tray must be
at least 70% mole of the bottom product make.
In super fractionation such as a de-isopentanizer this figure would be at
least 80100% of bottoms make.

59/169

7. SAT GAS PROCESSING PLANT

Saturated gases come from: CDU, CCR, HTU

Saturated gas plant is often referred to as LPG Recovery unit

Objective of the LPG recovery unit:
Collecting C3/C4 rich streams
Recovering the C3/C4 fraction

Treating the recovered LPG to commercial specifications

Feedstock Collection:
LPG from catalytic reforming unit,

LPG from Naphtha Hydrotreating Unit,

LPG from GO HDS unit and VGO HDS unit and C5/C6
Isomerization Unit

60/169

8. SAT GAS PROCESSING PLANT

Sweetening

61/169

8. SAT GAS PROCESSING PLANT

Absorber/Deethanizer section

62/169

8. SAT GAS PROCESSING PLANT

LPG Recovery Debutanizer section
The debutanizer is reboiled, using
steam under FRC reset by column
sensitive tray temperature control

63/169

The sensitive plate plate

whose temperature is the
most sensitive in an almost
symmetric way to changes
of material balance

Top

FEED

Sensitive Plate

Bottom

64/46

Column sensitive tray temperature control

In case of: The sensitive tray in
a. The stripping section
b. The rectifying section

65/46

8. SAT GAS PROCESSING PLANT

LPG wash section

8. SAT GAS PROCESSING PLANT

Depropanizer section

67/169

9. UNSAT GAS PROCESSING PLANT

Unsaturated gases come from: FCC, Delay Coker
1. FCCU gas recovery section
2. Delay coker gas recovery section
3. Unsaturated LPG sweetening unit

68/169

1. FCCU gas recovery section

De-butanizer section
separates LPG from
gasoline

LPG Amine Absorber

removes H2S by countercurrent absorption with DEA

1. FCCU gas recovery section

Secondary absorber recovers gasoline light

fractions from the overhead gas from the primary
absorber C-1907

70/169

1. FCCU gas recovery section

Depropanizer section

71/169

2. Delay coker gas recovery section

72/169

2. Delay coker gas recovery section

73/169

2. Delay coker gas recovery section

74/169

2. Delay coker gas recovery section

75/169

2. Delay coker gas recovery section

76/169

3. Unsaturated LPG sweetening unit

As liquid LPG sour cut, originated from upstream Delayed Coker
Unit, is rich mainly with RSHs

Treating to remove sulphur in order to meet product specifications

The LPG cut mercaptans removal process, fed with liquid LPG from
the Delayed Coker Unit.

The relevant sweet LPG cut will be sent to Delayed Coker unit
C3/C4 Splitter section.
The Unsaturated LPG Sweetening unit includes 3 sections:
LPG reaction section
Caustic regeneration section
Air compression package

77/169

3. Unsaturated LPG sweetening unit

LPG
reaction
section

Caustic Prewash:
NaOH+H2SNaSH+H2O
Extraction:
RSH+NaOHNaSR+H2O

78/169

3. Unsaturated LPG sweetening unit

Caustic regeneration section: 4NaSR + O2 + 2H2O 2RSSR + 4NaOH

79/169