In order to meet pipeline or pretreatment specifications, it is necessary to remove contaminants such as hydrogen sulfide and CO2 from natural gas streams. MEI Maverick Engineering has extensive experience in acid gas treating for natural gas processing facilities. Our engineered solutions provides reliable, cost effective processes that can handle variations in flow rate and in contaminant loading.
These processes are discussed further below.
Amine Systems
Amine systems are the most common technology for acid gas treating. These systems use a variety of solvents, which can include:
- MDEA
- DEA
- MEA
- DGA
- Proprietary solvents.
Untreated natural gas enters the absorber where it contacts the “lean” amine-water solution. The amine solution absorbs or strips the CO2 and H2S from the gas stream. The “rich’ amine solution contains the CO2 and H2S and collects in the bottom of the absorber. It is sent to a flash tank and then to a still. The increased temperature causes the “rich” amine to release steam which flows upward in the still. The steam strips the CO2 and H2S from the “rich” amine as it cascades down the still. The regenerated “lean” amine collects in the bottom of the still, and is routed back to the absorber for continued gas processing. The stripped gases and water vapor from the still are cooled, and the condensed water is returned to the still, while the CO2 and H2S exit the system. Greater efficiency is available through a 2 stage design, and the CO2 control is not sacrificed for the improvement in efficiency.
MEI utilizes ProMax (licensed by Bryan Research and Engineering) for amine system design. It has specific capabilities for the modeling of Amine systems, and is based on years of actual plant operating data. ProMax is continually updated and refined, thus insuring your amine project will be an optimum design.