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January 2009

Rapid estimation of equilibrium water dew point of

natural gas in TEG

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 Journal of Natural Gas Science and Engineering 1 (2009) 68–71

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Journal of Natural Gas Science and Engineering

journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/jngse

Rapid estimation of equilibrium water dew point of natural gas in TEG

dehydration systems
Alireza Bahadori*, Hari B. Vuthaluru
Department of Chemical Engineering, Curtin University of Technology, GPO Box U1987, Perth, WA 6845, Australia

a r t i c l e i n f o a b s t r a c t

Article history: Evaluation of a triethylene glycol (TEG) system involves first establishing the minimum triethylene glycol
Received 10 May 2009 (TEG) concentration required to meet the outlet gas water dew point specification. In the present work,
Received in revised form simple-to-use correlation, which is simpler than currently available models involving a large number of
6 August 2009
parameters, requiring more complicated and longer computations, has been developed for the rapid
Accepted 6 August 2009
estimation of the water dew point of a natural gas stream in equilibrium with a TEG solution at various
Available online 2 September 2009
temperatures and TEG concentrations. This correlation can be used to estimate the required TEG
concentration for a particular application or the theoretical dew point depression for a given TEG
Keywords:
Correlation concentration and contactor temperature. Actual outlet dewpoints depend on the TEG circulation rate
Natural gas and number of equilibrium stages, but typical approaches to equilibrium are 6–11  C. Equilibrium
Dew point dewpoints are relatively insensitive to pressure and this correlation may be used up to 10 300 kPa (abs)
Triethylene glycol with little error. The proposed correlation covers VLE data for TEG–water system for contactor
Gas dehydration temperatures between 10  C and 80  C and TEG concentrations ranging from 90.00 to 99.999 wt%. The
average absolute deviation percent from the data reported in the literature is 0.5% which shows the
excellent performance of proposed correlation. This simple-to-use correlation can be of immense
practical value for the gas engineers to have a quick check on equilibrium water dew point of natural gas
at various temperatures and TEG weight percents. In particular, personnel dealing with natural gas
dehydration and processing would find the proposed approach to be user friendly involving no complex
expressions with transparent calculations.
Ó 2009 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

1. Introduction
The natural gas industry has recognized that dehydration is
necessary to ensure smooth operation of gas transmission lines.
Dehydration prevents the formation of gas hydrates and reduces
corrosion. Natural gas is dehydrated using either a liquid desiccant
(i.e. glycols) or a solid desiccant. But economics frequently favor
liquid desiccant dehydration when it meets the required dehydra-
tion specification (Mokhatab et al., 2006). Glycols are typically used
for applications, where dew point depressions of the order of
15–49  C are required (Gas Processors and Suppliers Association
Engineering Data Book, 2004).
Triethylene glycol (TEG), the most common for natural gas
dehydration, is used in a countercurrent mass transfer operation
inside a contractor to establish the required water content in the
outlet gas (Bahadori, 2007). Following the process flow in Fig. 1,
* Corresponding author. Tel.: þ61 8 9266 1782; fax: þ61 8 9266 2681.
E-mail address: alireza.bahadori@postgrad.curtin.edu.au (A. Bahadori).
the regenerated glycol is pumped to the top tray of the con-
tactor (absorber). The glycol absorbs water as it flows down
through the contactor countercurrent to the gas flow. Water-rich
glycol is removed from the bottom of the contactor, passes
through the reflux condenser coil, flashes off most of the soluble
gas in the flash tank, and flows through the rich-lean heat
exchanger to the regenerator. In the regenerator, absorbed water
is distilled from the glycol at near atmospheric pressure by
application of heat. The regenerated lean glycol exits the surge
drum, is partly cooled in the lean-rich exchanger and is pumped
through the glycol cooler before being recirculated to the con-
tactor (Bahadori, 2009).
Evaluation of a triethylene glycol (TEG) system involves first
establishing the minimum triethylene glycol (TEG) concentration
required to meet the outlet gas water dew point specification
(Bahadori et al., 2008). Several equilibrium correlations for pre-
dicting water dew point of natural gas in equilibrium with a TEG
dehydration system have been presented since 1950. However, all
methods are limited by the ability to measure accurately the
equilibrium concentration of water in the vapor phase above

1875-5100/$ – see front matter Ó 2009 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
doi:10.1016/j.jngse.2009.08.001
 A. Bahadori, H.B. Vuthaluru / Journal of Natural Gas Science and Engineering 1 (2009) 68–71
Nomenclature
A Tuned coefficient
B Tuned coefficient
C Tuned coefficient
D Tuned coefficient
T Temperature, K
Td Water dewpoint temperature, K
W the TEG purity in water (weight percent)
triethylene glycol (TEG) solutions (Twu et al., 2005). In the corre-
lations developed by Parrish et al. (1986) and Won (1994), the
equilibrium water concentrations in the vapor phase were deter-
mined at infinite dilution (essentially 100% TEG). The other corre-
lations use extrapolations of data at lower concentrations to
estimate equilibrium in the infinite dilution region (Parrish et al.,
1986; Won, 1994). Herskowitz and Gottlieb (1984) measured the
activity coefficients of water in TEG at two temperatures, 297.60
and 332.60 K. The lowest mole fraction of water for which
measured activities were 0.1938 and 0.2961 at 297.60 K and
332.60 K, respectively. These fit the measured activity coefficients
to the van Laar equation. They did not measure data in the infinite
dilution region. In order to predict the equilibrium behavior in the
infinite dilution region, most researchers simply extrapolated the
measured data at low water concentrations to infinite dilution
using an activity coefficient model such as van Laar. However,
extrapolating the van Laar or any other activity coefficient model
will yield erroneous results for the infinite dilution activity coeffi-
cients. The GPSA data book presented an equilibrium correlation
based on the work of Worley (1967). In general, the correlations of
Worley (1967), Rosman (1973) and Parrish et al. (1986) agree
reasonably well and are adequate for most TEG system designs.
All are limited by the ability to measure accurately the equilibrium
concentration of water in the vapor phase above TEG solutions.
In view of the above, there is an essential need to develop an easy-
to-use method for rapid and accurate prediction of equilibrium
water dew point of natural gas in TEG dehydration system.
Fig. 1. Typical TEG-Natural Gas Dehydration System (Bahadori, 2007).
69
2. Methodology to develop simple correlation
The required data to develop this correlation includes the
reported data (Parrish et al., 1986; Herskowitz and Gottlieb, 1984)
for the rapid estimation of water dew point (Td) of a natural gas
stream in equilibrium with a triethylene glycol (TEG) solution at
various contactor temperatures (T) and TEG concentrations (W) in
percent. In this work, water dew point (Td) of a natural gas stream
in equilibrium with a triethylene glycol (TEG) solution is predicted
rapidly by proposing a simple correlation. The following method-
ology has been applied to develop this correlation:
Firstly, water dewpoints (Td) of a natural gas stream in equi-
librium with a triethylene glycol (TEG) solution are correlated as
a function of contactor temperatures for different TEG concentra-
tions. Then, the calculated coefficients for these polynomials are
correlated as a function of TEG concentrations. The derived poly-
nomials are applied to calculate new coefficients for equation (1) to
predict the water dew point (Td) of a natural gas stream in equi-
librium with a triethylene glycol (TEG) solution. Table 1 shows the
tuned coefficients for equations (2)–(5).
In brief, the following steps are repeated to tune the correla-
tion’s coefficients.
1. Correlate the water dew point (Td) of a natural gas stream in
equilibrium with a triethylene glycol (TEG) solution as a func-
tion of contactor temperature for a given TEG concentration
2. Repeat step 1 for other TEG concentrations.
3. Correlate corresponding polynomial coefficients, which are
obtained in previous steps versus TEG concentrations, a ¼ f(W),
b ¼ f(W), c ¼ f(W), d ¼ f(W) [see equations (2)–(5)].
So, equation (1) represents the proposed governing equation in
which four coefficients are used to correlate the water dew point
(Td) of a natural gas stream in equilibrium with a triethylene glycol
(TEG) solution as a function of contactor temperature and TEG
concentration where the relevant coefficients have been reported
in Table 1.
Td ¼ a þ bT þ cT 2 þ dT 3 (1)
Where:
a ¼ A1 þ B1 W þ C1 W2 þ D1 W3 (2)
b ¼ A2 þ B2 W þ C2 W2 þ D2 W3 (3)
c ¼ A3 þ B3 W þ C3 W2 þ D3 W3 (4)
d ¼ A4 þ B4 W þ C4 W2 þ D4 W3 (5)
In the above equations, Td and T are the water dew point
temperature and the contactor temperature in K, respectively and
W is the triethylene glycol (TEG) purity in water (in weight
percent). The tuned coefficients in equations (2)–(5) are reported in
Table 1. These coefficients help to cover the reported data provided
by Herskowitz and Gottlieb (1984) and Parrish et al. (1986) for the
contactor temperature variations of 10–80  C, and TEG purity of
90–99.999 weight percent.
3. Results and discussions
Figs. 2–4 show the water dew point of a natural gas stream in
equilibrium with a TEG solution at various TEG concentrations
and contactor temperature between 10  C and 80  C. As can be
70 A. Bahadori, H.B. Vuthaluru / Journal of Natural Gas Science and Engineering 1 (2009) 68–71

Table 1
Tuned coefficients used in Equations (2)–(5).

Coefficient 90% < TEG < 99% 99% < TEG < 99.9% 99.9% < TEG < 99.999%
A1 2.727934205339338  107 5.948778272003327  109 1.434042060305527  1013
B1 8.631372857145108  105 1.790765203821737  108 4.304293620022248  1011
C1 9.095756908066296  103 1.796891322204887  106 4.306461745218327  109
D1 3.192394176943851  101 6.010038602026653  103 1.436210185528952  107
A2 2.653646110218815  105 6.033812028658381  107 1.377170114378799  1011
B2 8.394220905037211  103 1.816573929578706  106 4.133592993287494  109
C2 8.843532185285766  101 1.823001079027631  104 4.135676303556589  107
D2 3.103038903374517  101 6.098082812834708  101 1.379253424664974  105
A3 8.616616027595576  102 2.040747181326815  105 4.362719886544207  108
B3 2.725023220090672  101 6.144735183073446  103 1.309475458226566  107
C3 2.870185527430992  101 6.167227566580564  101 1.310135158620758  105
D3 1.006847138127057  103 2.063239320629376  101 4.369316890559073  102
A4 9.319294190023186  101 2.273886759702042  102 4.616804880279627  105
B4 2.946481646399538  102 6.847347278284538 1.385739729044255  104
C4 3.102601747330962  104 6.873040245312648  102 1.386438214526602  102
D4 1.088073588828679  106 2.299579467606105  104 4.623789735185614  101

seen, there is a good agreement between predicted results and Table 2 shows the average absolute deviation percent from the
the reported values. Table 2 shows the average absolute deviation literature reported data in is 0.5% which proves the excellent
percent from the literature reported data in is 0.5% which proves performance of this simple proposed correlation.
the excellent accuracy of the proposed correlation. Since the TEG Typical example is given below to illustrate the simplicity
dehydrators usually operate at temperatures of less than 70  C, associated with the use of proposed correlation for rapid estimating
there was no practical need to include temperatures higher than dew point of natural gas at various temperatures and TEG weight
70  C in the graphs of this work. The equilibrium water dew- percents.
points calculated by this correlation are based on this fact that
the condensed water phase is considered as a metastable liquid.
3.1. Example
At low dewpoints the true condensed phase will be a hydrate.
The equilibrium dew point temperature above a hydrate is higher
0.85 million Sm3/day of a natural gas enters a TEG contactor at
than that above a metastable liquid. Therefore, this correlation C
38 and 4100 kPa (abs). The target H2O dew point is 4  C
predicts dewpoints which are colder than those which can
(269.15 K). Calculate the lean TEG concentration in mass percent at
actually be achieved. The difference is a function of temperature,
this given temperature (38  C). Assume a 6  C approach to
pressure and gas composition but can be as much as 8–11  C.
equilibrium:
When dehydrating to very low dewpoints, such as those required
upstream of a refrigeration process, the TEG concentration must
Solution:
be sufficient to dry the gas to the hydrate dew point. This
a) Assume glycol concentration ¼ 98 percent
correlation can be used to estimate the required TEG concentra-
a ¼ 9.787965786  102 (from equation (2))
tion for a particular application or theoretical dew point
b ¼ –8.2542485929 (from equation (3))
depression for a given TEG concentration and contactor temper-
c ¼ 2.85559873  102 (from equation (4))
ature. Actual outlet dewpoints depend on the TEG circulation rate
d ¼ –2.99664505  105 (from equation (5))
and the number of equilibrium stages, but typical approaches to
Equilibrium water dew point (K) ¼ 272.4 K (from equation (1))
equilibrium are 6–11  C.
Calculated water dew point 272.4 þ 6 ¼ 278.4 K.

30
Equilibrium Water Dew Point Temperature,°C

Equilibrium Water Dew Point Temperature,°C

20
Correlation, TEG=99%
20 Data
15 Correlation, TEG=99.5%
Data
10 10 Correlation, TEG=99.8%
Data
5 0 Correlation, TEG=99.9%
Data
0
-10
Correlation, 90% TEG
-5 Data
-20
Correlation, 95% TEG
-10
Data
-30
-15 Correlation, 97% TEG
Data
Correlation, 98% TEG -40
-20
Data
-25 Correlation, 99% TEG -50
Data
-30 -60
10 20 30 40 50 60 70 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80
Contactor Temperature,°C Contactor Temperature,°C

Fig. 2. Water dew point of a natural gas stream in equilibrium with a TEG solution at Fig. 3. Water dew point of a natural gas stream in equilibrium with a TEG solution at
various contactor temperatures and TEG concentrations ranging from 90% to 99%. various contactor temperatures and TEG concentrations ranging from 99% to 99.9%.
 A. Bahadori, H.B. Vuthaluru / Journal of Natural Gas Science and Engineering 1 (2009) 68–71 71

-20 4. Conclusions
Equilibrium Water Dew Point Temperature,°C

Correlation, TEG=99.95%
Data
Correlation, TEG=99.98%
Data
-30 Correlation, TEG=99.99
Data In the present work, simple-to-use correlation, which is much
Correlation, TEG=99.995%
Data
Correlation, TEG=99.998%
simpler than currently available models involving a large number of
Data
-40 Correlation, TEG=99.999%
Data
parameters, requiring more complicated and longer computations,
has been developed for the rapid estimation of equilibrium water
-50 dew point of a natural gas stream in equilibrium with a triethylene
glycol (TEG) solution at various contactor temperatures and TEG
-60 concentrations. The correlation covers VLE data for TEG–water
system for contactor temperatures between 10  C and 80  C and
-70 TEG concentrations ranging from 90.00 to 99.999 wt%. This corre-
lation can be used to estimate the required TEG concentration for
-80 the theoretical dew point depression for a given TEG concentration
and contactor temperature. Equilibrium dewpoints are relatively
-90 insensitive to pressure and this correlation may be used up to
10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80
10 300 kPa (abs) with little error. The average absolute deviation
Contactor Temperature,°C percent from the data reported in the literature is 0.5% which shows
Fig. 4. Water dew point of a natural gas stream in equilibrium with a TEG solution at
the excellent performance of proposed correlation. The correlation
various contactor temperatures and TEG concentrations ranging from 99.9% to proposed in the present work is novel and unique expression which
99.999%. is non-existent in the literature. Simple-to-use approach can be of
immense practical value for the gas engineers to have a quick check
on water dew point of natural gas at various temperatures and TEG
b) Assume glycol concentration ¼ 99 percent weight percents without performing any experimental measure-
a ¼ 4.954486701 102 (from equation (2)) ments. In particular, personnel dealing with natural gas dehydra-
b ¼ –3.7764125162 (from equation (3)) tion and processing would find the proposed approach to be user
c ¼ 1.4679027361 102 (from equation (4)) friendly involving no complex expressions with transparent
d ¼ –1.584645897  105 (from equation (5)) calculations.
Equilibrium water dew point (K) ¼ 264.2 K (from equation (1))
Calculated water dew point 264.2 þ 6 ¼ 270.2 K.
Acknowledgements
c) Assume glycol concentration ¼ 99.02 percent
a ¼ 5.8234212875366  101 (from equation (2))
The lead author acknowledges the Australian Department of
b ¼ 5.1297414302825  101 (from equation (3))
Education, Science and Training for Endeavour International Post-
c ¼ 6.646978436037  104 (from equation (4))
graduate Research Scholarship (EIPRS), the Office of Research &
d ¼ –6.285478093559  107 (from equation (5))
Development at Curtin University of Technology, Perth, Western
Equilibrium water dew point (K) ¼ 263.26 K (from equation (1))
Australia for providing Curtin University Postgraduate Research
Calculated water dew point 263.26þ6 ¼ 269.26 K.
Scholarship and the State Government of Western Australia for
providing top up scholarship through the Western Australian
The calculated result (269.26 K) has good agreement with water
Energy Research Alliance (WA:ERA). The authors also acknowledge
dew point (269.15 K). So glycol purity 99.02 meets targeted water
anonymous reviewers and the editor for their useful comments to
dew point.
improve the original version of paper.
We have suggested 6  C of approach because is a usual standard
practice. The closeness of the result to the prediction could vary if
we takes a different approach to equilibrium.
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