W

Short-C
Some pro
from natu

This proc
usually s
amounts
adsorben

There are
for hydro
dewpoint
compared
adsorptio
meets bo

Fig. 5.17
While on
Usually,
design of

F
Water De
Cycle Dry D
ocesses can b
ural gas. The
cess is simila
elected for a
of C
5
+
so th
nt.
e basically tw
ocarbon dew
t control, and
d to 8 hours
on unit is tha
oth the hydro
7 shows the a
ne tower is o
the towers s
f the facility

Fig. 5.17Sc
ewpoint
Dessicant P
be used to co
e short-cycle
ar to the dry
a gas stream
at the hydro
wo differenc
wpoint contro
d the cycle t
or longer fo
at it recovers
ocarbon and
arrangement
on adsorption
switch every
.
chematic dr
and Hy
Process
ontrol the w
e dry desicca
desiccant ad
that is fairly
carbon dewp
ces between
ol, namely th
time for the t
or dehydratio
s about 60 to
water dewpo
t of a typical
n, the other t
y 20 to 30 mi
rawing of ty
ydrocarb
ater content
ant process c
dsorption pr
y lean in prop
point is not m
using this pr
hat three tow
towers is sho
on. The desir
o 70% of the
oints.
l three-tower
two towers a
inutes. The l
ypical dry d
bon Dew
as well as re
can be used i
ocess covere
pane and bu
met. Silica g
rocess for w
wers are requ
ort, usually 2
rable feature
pentanes-pl
r, short-cycle
are on their h
ength of the
desiccant dew
wpoint C
emove heavi
in this way.
ed in dehydr
utane but con
gel is general
water dewpoin
uired for hydr
20 to 30 min
e of the short
lus in the gas
e hydrocarbo
heating and c
cycle time d
wpoint cont
Control
ier hydrocar

ration. It is
ntains suffici
lly the prefer
nt control an
rocarbon
nutes as
t cycle
s stream and
on recovery
cooling cycl
depends on t

trol process
rbons
ient
rred
nd
d
unit.
es.
the
s.

There are many factors that influence the performance of a short-cycle unit. First and foremost,
the separator ahead of the unit must remove all liquids and solids in the gas. A slug of liquid into
the bed would damage the adsorbent and perhaps necessitate a changeout. The adsorption
temperature should be as low as possible without causing hydrates ahead of the unit, to adsorb
more of the heavier hydrocarbons. Proper regeneration of the bed is very important. A portion of
the process stream is used for this purpose. Regeneration gas temperatures are in the order of 480
to 530F. The tower should be heated to an outlet gas temperature of 390F.

While adsorbing and desorbing are important, the adequate condensing of the desorbed
hydrocarbons is also very important. If the condensing is inefficient, the heavier hydrocarbons
have no means of exiting from the gas stream. In warm climates, this is a major problem,
requiring that the condenser be conservatively sized. Upon condensing, the liquids must be
separated from the lighter hydrocarbons in the regeneration stream. Conservatively-sized vertical
separators are usually used in this service.

The design of the short-cycle dry desiccant units is usually performed by the seller of the
desiccant. The seller develops the computer software and tests the simulation results in actual
applications. Thus, the design results from the vendor are quite reliable.