Design Modification of Acid Gas Cleaning Units for an Enhanced Performance in Natural Gas Processing

Al-Amri, Amr; Zahid, Umer

doi:10.1021/acs.energyfuels.9b03671

Cited by 14 publications

(4 citation statements)

References 23 publications

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“…Also, Aliabad and Mirzaei studied the accuracy of HYSYS and ASPEN simulators in gas sweetening forecasting by aqueous amine solvents . The Aspen HYSYS software was also applied to simulate and optimize the gas sweetening process using several amine types and blends, for example, DEA, MEA, MDEA, − DGA, and MEG , aqueous solutions and the effects of operating conditions such as circulation rate, concentration, and inlet temperature of amine on the regeneration reboiler temperature and duty were studied.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Simulation and Optimization of the Acid Gas Absorption Process by an Aqueous Diethanolamine Solution in a Natural Gas Sweetening Unit

et al. 2021

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The presence of carbon dioxide in natural gases can lower the quality of natural gas and can cause CO 2 freezing problems. Therefore, using reliable techniques for the reduction and elimination of carbon dioxide from natural gases is necessary. The aqueous diethanol amine (DEA) solution’s ability to simultaneously absorb H 2 S and CO 2 from sour natural gases makes it possible to use this solution in the natural gas sweetening process. The goal of this work was to determine the maximum amount of the removed CO 2 by an aqueous DEA solution in one of the gas sweetening plants of the National Iranian South Oilfields Company (NISOC). For this purpose, based on the obtained designed experiment results using the L9 orthogonal array Taguchi method, the experiments were conducted and three levels of amine concentrations (25, 28, and 30 wt %), temperatures (40, 50, and 60 °C), and circulation rates of lean amine (220, 240, and 260 m 3 h –1 ) were considered as the key operational parameters on CO 2 removal. To evaluate the ability of the HYSYS simulation software and the Kent–Eisenberg thermodynamic model to predict CO 2 absorption by an aqueous DEA solution in the gas sweetening process, the field data were compared with the results of the simulation. It was observed that the maximum removal of CO 2 is achieved at a lean amine concentration of 30 wt %, a temperature of 40 °C, and a circulation rate of 260 m 3 h –1 . Also, the experimental results indicate that the effects of the selected process variables on CO 2 absorption are not linear and the most effective parameter on carbon dioxide removal is the concentration of amine in an aqueous solution and the temperature of the lean amine has the least effect. Besides, the obtained simulation results are in the range of the unit design basis but have some deviations from field data. The findings of this study can help in better understanding of the selection of the effective variables in the natural gas sweetening process and obtaining their appropriate values to achieve the highest efficiency.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Simulation and Optimization of the Acid Gas Absorption Process by an Aqueous Diethanolamine Solution in a Natural Gas Sweetening Unit

et al. 2021

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“…Process modifications and optimization are considered as other effective methods for reducing energy consumption in the AGR units. Several research studies have analyzed the energy minimization and process optimization of AGR and CO 2 capture units. − It should be noted that conventional energy assessment cannot provide enough information on energy quality and energy efficiency of thermal processes/systems. A conventional energy evaluation is unable to detect the thermodynamic inefficiencies and irreversibility sources.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Exergy and Exergoeconomic Assessment of an Acid Gas Removal Unit in a Gas Refinery Plant

Mohamadi‐Baghmolaei

Hajizadeh

Zendehboudi

et al. 2021

Ind. Eng. Chem. Res.

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Acid gas absorption using amine solution is a common method for large-scale acid gas separation, although this separation technique suffers from high energy requirements. In this study, the amine-based acid gas removal (AGR) unit aims for operation enhancement. The new amine mixture, a combination of MDEA-DEA-PZ, is used to remove acid gas components from natural gas. As energy consumption is of high importance for both the industry and community, a systematic exergoeconomic optimization and a sensitivity analysis are performed to avoid production loss and enhance the AGR unit's energy efficiency. An exergy assessment is performed to determine the irreversibility and exergy efficiency of the AGR equipment. The stripper and absorber columns show the largest exergy destruction, that is 8.48 and 7.93 MW, respectively; almost 80% of the entire exergy destruction belongs to the stripper and absorber. The exergoeconomic parameters, such as relative cost difference, exergoeconomic factor, and most importantly, the exergy destruction cost, are determined for the key equipment of the AGR unit. The stripper accounts for the largest exergy destruction cost (0.5260 $/s), followed by the absorber (0.2950 $/s). The Taguchi approach is employed to conduct a proper sensitivity analysis and to determine the optimal operation state with the lowest total exergy destruction cost. Five key parameters, including stripper pressure, lean amine loading, lean amine temperature, lean amine concentration, and PZ concentration, are selected for the optimization phase. It is concluded that the stripper pressure and lean amine loading (with 28 and 25% relative significance, respectively) are the key factors with the largest shares in the total exergy destruction value. The optimal operation state obtained by the Taguchi method shows a remarkable reduction in the exergy destruction cost (19.32%) and steam consumption (23.88%). According to the environmental assessment, CO 2 emissions mitigate from 118.88 to 90.49 t/d while operating the process at the optimal conditions. In addition, the carbon tax is reduced to almost 23% at the optimal condition, and the steam cost declines from 3.77 × 10 6 to 2.87 × 10 6 USD/year. This study further highlights the importance of exergoeconomic assessment as a useful strategy for determining the irreversibility costs in energy and chemical sectors.

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“…Replacing the current energy system with a lower carbon emission system is one of the most deliberated topics in this century . Significant efforts have been made in order to improve the energy efficiencies of the existing plants while reducing carbon emissions. − Hydrogen has gained significant attention recently to be used as a fuel in the energy system along with the existing infrastructure to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Hydrogen is a clean, nonpolluting fuel that only emits water after oxidation with oxygen.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Modeling and Simulation of Prereformed Naphtha and Methane Steam Reforming in a Catalytic Membrane Reactor

Alrashed

Onaizi

Alenazey

et al. 2021

Ind. Eng. Chem. Res.

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As climate change concerns grow, clean energy systems based on hydrogen fuels are receiving substantial attention. This paper presents the performance analysis of the PdAu membrane in a packed bed reactor loaded with Ni-based catalysts. A comparative analysis was conducted between methane steam reforming and prereformed naphtha at temperature and pressure ranges from 450 to 650 °C and 5 to 40 bar, respectively. A one-dimensional pseudo-homogeneous model was developed using Aspen Custom Modeler for a packed bed membrane reactor (MR) with catalysts packed between the membrane and the reactor shell. The developed mathematical model was used to study the effect of key operational parameters on the membrane performance such as concentration polarization, coadsorption inhibition, temperature, feed and permeate pressure, and membrane length and its thickness. The MR performance was measured by methane conversion, hydrogen recovery, and hydrogen yield. Prereformed naphtha shows slightly better performance in terms of methane conversion and hydrogen yield approaching 87 and 79%, respectively, under operational conditions of 650 °C and 40 bar as it is closer to the thermodynamic equilibrium. Also, it has lower energy consumption by 36.3% compared to the steam methane reforming conditions.

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Design Modification of Acid Gas Cleaning Units for an Enhanced Performance in Natural Gas Processing

Cited by 14 publications

References 23 publications

Simulation and Optimization of the Acid Gas Absorption Process by an Aqueous Diethanolamine Solution in a Natural Gas Sweetening Unit

Simulation and Optimization of the Acid Gas Absorption Process by an Aqueous Diethanolamine Solution in a Natural Gas Sweetening Unit

Exergy and Exergoeconomic Assessment of an Acid Gas Removal Unit in a Gas Refinery Plant

Modeling and Simulation of Prereformed Naphtha and Methane Steam Reforming in a Catalytic Membrane Reactor

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