Sweetening Assignment

Oleh Muhammad Amin Rois (1606932375)

1. AGRU in Gas Processing Facilities (Reference: Fundamental of Natural Gas

Processing (Arthur J. Hidnay & William W. Parrish)

Sour natural gas compositions can vary over a wide concentration of H2S and CO2
and a wide concentration of hydrocarbon components. If the H2S content exceeds
the sales gas specification limit, the excess H2S must be separated from the sour
gas. The removal of H2S from sour gas is called “sweetening.”

Four scenarios are possible for acid gas removal from natural gas:

1. CO2 removal from a gas that contains no H2S

2. H2S removal from a gas that contains no CO2
3. Simultaneous removal of both CO2 and H2S
4. Selective removal of H2S from a gas that contains both CO2 and H2S

Because the concentrations of CO2 and H2S in the raw gas to be processed and the
allowable acid gas levels in the final product vary substantially, no single process is
markedly superior in all circumstances, and, consequently, many processes are
presently in use. Graphic below summarizes the more important processes and
groups them into the generally accepted categories. Details of processes not
discussed in this chapter may be found in the handbook by Kohl and Nielsen (1997).

Some of the more important items that must be considered before a process
is selected are summarized from the Engineering Data Book (2004b):
• The type and concentration of impurities and hydrocarbon composition of the sour
gas. For example, COS, CS2, and mercaptans can affect the design of both gas and
liquid treating facilities. Physical solvents tend to dissolve heavier hydrocarbons, and
the presence of these heavier compounds in significant quantities tends to favor the
selection of a chemical solvent.
• The temperature and pressure at which the sour gas is available. High partial
pressures (50 psi [3.4 bar] or higher) of the acid gases in the feed favor physical
solvents, whereas low partial pressures favor the amines.
• The specifications of the outlet gas (low outlet specifications favor the
amines).
• The volume of gas to be processed.
• The specifications for the residue gas, the acid gas, and liquid products.
• The selectivity required for the acid gas removal.
• The capital, operating, and royalty costs for the process.
• The environmental constraints, including air pollution regulations and disposal of
byproducts considered hazardous chemicals.
If gas sweetening is required offshore, both size and weight are additional factors
that must be considered. Whereas CO2 removal is performed offshore, H2S removal
is rarely done unless absolutely necessary because of the problems of handling the
rich acid gas stream or elemental sulfur.
Selection criteria for the solvent-based processes are discussed by Tennyson and
Schaaf (1977) and Figures below are based on their recommendations. The
guidelines in these figures are naturally approximate and should be treated as such.
These figures are for solvent-based processes only. Thus, they exclude some
commonly used processes such as adsorption and membranes. We slightly modified
their recommendations to make it more current, but these guidelines, established in
1977, still are useful. Note that “hybrid” in the figures denotes mixed-solvent
systems that contain both amine and a physical solvent.
Tabel below adapted from Echterhoff (1991), presents a detailed summary of the
more widely used acid gas processes, including degree of purification attainable,
selectivity for H2S removal, and removal of the sulfur compounds COS, CS2, and
mercaptans. As a rule, these sulfur compounds exist at much lower concentrations
than do H2S, but their removal is important if product specifications have an upper
limit on total sulfur. Note that in cases of deep liquids recovery, most of the COS,
CS2, and mercaptans present in the feed will stay with the liquid product (NGL).The
amines are susceptible to degradation by O2, which forms undesirable and corrosive
compounds. In this discussion, we consider only the more commonly used amine
processes, an alkali salt process (hot potassium carbonate), the Selexolphysical
absorption process, molecular sieve adsorption, the Ryan/Holmes cryogenic
fractionation process, membranes, and H2S scavengers. For a more comprehensive
discussion of acid gas purification, the reader should refer to Kohl and Nielsen
(1997) and Engineering Data Book (2004b).
A typical diagram for the removal of acid gases from natural gas by use of MEA is
shown in Figure below. The diagram is simplified, and all operating conditions are
representative, not definitive. The sour gas feed enters the bottom of the contactor
at pressures to 1,000 psi (70 bar) and temperatures in the range of 90°F (32°C).
The sour gas flows upward, countercurrent to the lean amine solution which flows
down from the top. The lean amine that returns to the contactor is maintained at a
temperature above the vapor that exits the contactor to prevent any condensation of
heavier liquid hydrocarbons. Intimate contact between the gas and amine solution is
achieved by use of either trays or packing in the contactor.

The contactor operates above ambient temperature because of the combined

exothermic heat of absorption and reaction. The maximum temperature is in the
lower portion of the tower because the majority of the absorption and reaction
occurs near the bottom of the unit. The temperature “bulge” in the tower can be up
to about 180°F (80°C). The treated gas leaves the top of the tower water saturated
and at a temperature controlled by the temperature of the lean amine that enters,
usually around 100°F (38°C).

The rich amine leaves the bottom of the unit at temperatures near 140°F (60°C) and
enters a flash tank, where its pressure is reduced to 75 to 100 psig (5 to 7 barg) to
remove (flash) any dissolved hydrocarbons. The dissolved hydrocarbons are
generally used as plant fuel. If necessary, a small stream of lean amine is contacted
with the fuel gas to reduce the H2S concentration. The rich amine then passes
through a heat exchanger and enters the solvent regenerator (stripper) at
temperatures in the range of 180 to 220°F (80 to 105°C). The reboiler on the
stripper generally uses low-pressure steam. The vapor generated at the bottom
flows upward through either trays or packing, where it contacts the rich amine and
strips the acid gases from the liquid that flows down. A stream of lean amine is
removed from the stripper, cooled to about 110°F (45°C), and reenters the
contactor at the top to cool and condense the upward-flowing vapor stream. The
vapor, which consists mostly of acid gases and water vapor, exits the top of the
stripper and is generally processed for sulfur recover.

The lean amine exits the bottom of the stripper at about 260°F (130°C) and is
pumped to the contactor pressure, exchanges heat with the rich amine stream, and
is further cooled before it enters the top of the contactor. Both the treated gas that
leaves the gas contactor and the acid gas to the Claus unit are water saturated.
2. The effect of MEA/DEA composition to Acid Loading and CO2 composition in Sweet
Gas

Amine Flow: 5000 USGPM

P = 10 psia di bawah P Gas
T = 95 oF

Buat Kurva CO2 loadning and CO2 in SG Vs komposisi MEA & DEA

MEA MDEA CO2 loading CO2 in Sweet

Gas
0.00 0.35 0.04145 0.1396
0.01 0.35 0.2891 0.0425
0.02 0.35 0.3270 0.0181
0.03 0.35 0.3327 0.0072
0.04 0.35 0.3243 0.0035
0.05 0.35 0.3124 0.0022
0.06 0.35 0.3004 0.0016
0.07 0.35 0.2888 0.0012
0.08 0.35 0.2780 0.0010
0.09 0.35 0.2679 0.0008
0.10 0.35 0.2585 0.0007

DEA MDEA CO2 loading CO2 in Sweet

Gas
0.00 0.35 0.04136 0.1396
0.01 0.35 0.1987 0.0818
0.02 0.35 0.2264 0.0679
0.03 0.35 0.2444 0.0572
0.04 0.35 0.2568 0.0483
0.05 0.35 0.2652 0.0408
0.06 0.35 0.2706 0.0344
0.07 0.35 0.2737 0.0290
0.08 0.35 0.2749 0.0245
0.09 0.35 0.2745 0.0207
0.10 0.35 0.2730 0.0176
 CO2 Loading
0.3500

0.3000

0.2500
CO2 Loading

0.2000

0.1500 MEA
DEA
0.1000

0.0500

0.0000
0.0000 0.0200 0.0400 0.0600 0.0800 0.1000 0.1200
Mass Frac MEA/DEA

CO2 in Sweet Gas

0.1600

0.1400

0.1200
CO2 in Sweet Gas

0.1000

0.0800
MEA
0.0600
DEA
0.0400

0.0200

0.0000
0.0000 0.0200 0.0400 0.0600 0.0800 0.1000 0.1200
Mass Frac MEA/DEA