Acid gas treatment upgrade for
Qatargas
Upgrading acid gas treatment at the worlds largest LNG facility safeguards the
plants design capacity and its ability to process increasingly sour feeds
Gauthier Perdu, Laurent Normand and Geraldine Laborie Prosernat
Omar Alhatou Qatargas
Q atargas is the worlds largest liquefied
natural gas (LNG) company. It annually
produces and supplies the globe with 42 million
tonnes of LNG from its four ventures (Qatargas
1-4). A joint venture of Qatar Petroleum,
ExxonMobil, Total, Mitsui and Marubeni, the
company has headquarters in Doha, Qatar and
maintains its upstream assets in Ras Laffan.
Natural gas is supplied to Qatargass LNG trains
from the massive North Field, by far the worlds
largest non-associated gas field. Together with
RasGas, the company achieves LNG production
of 77 million t/y.
The company was originally formed to operate
three LNG trains with a design capacity of 2
million t/y each. Then, Qatargas 1 was upgraded
in 2005 through a debottlenecking project,
which resulted in a new capacity of 10 million
t/y.
Plateau Maintenance Project
The recent completion of the Plateau
Maintenance Project (PMP) ensures that the
production capacity of Qatargas 1 is maintained
at 10 million t/y of LNG for many years to come.
This has been accomplished by drilling additional
offshore wells, modifying associated offshore
facilities, modifying the existing Qatargas 1
Trains 1, 2 and 3, and adding onshore facilities to
accommodate expected increases of hydrogen
sulphide (H2S) and carbon dioxide (CO2) contents
in the feed gas.
With these new gas sources, the H2S and CO2
content would be above the maximum levels that
can be handled by the existing facilities to keep
production of LNG at maximum flow.
www.digitalrefining.com/article/1001270
Additionally, the content of H2S and CO2 will not
be stable over time, but is expected to rise
according to the wells in production. Contents
can even be adjustable, but they will definitively
stay above the H2S and CO2 levels the original
plant was designed for.
The existing gas pretreatment units of Qatargas
1 LNG plant consist of three parallel Sulphinol D
units, designed by Shell and capable of handling
a gas with 0.9% H2S and 2.4% CO2. The acid gas
produced by the Sulphinol plant is sent to an
existing 634 t/d sulphur production plant. The
Sulphinol units accommodate the presence of
mercaptans in the feed gas, with the support of
polishing units installed downstream.
The additional quantities of H2S are treated in
new onshore facilities composed of a new acid
gas removal unit (AGRU) and a new sulphur
recovery unit (SRU), as part of the project. The
new plant is based on a single train concept and
is capable of treating over 1.1 billion cubic feet
per day (bcfd) of offshore feed gas, located
upstream the existing LNG trains. The basic prin-
ciple is to remove the extra amounts of H2S and
CO2 from sourer feed gas, down to levels accept-
able to the existing downstream facilities. The
acid gas from this new AGRU is sent directly to a
new dedicated conversion unit in order to
produce sulphur and meet emission standards.
Numerous new or upgraded compression and
utility units were also included as the onshore
project had a major brownfield component, with
the scope of work conducted within the existing
operating facilities and equipment.
After Chiyoda and Technip had carried out
early conceptual studies in 2004 and 2005,
Gas 2016 1
 BTX AGRU + acid gas enrich-
Treated gas Flash gas Prosernat ment + amine section of the
AGR No.4 and SRU Licensor
to Sulfinol to fuel gas
TGT No. 4 units SRU + incinerator TGTU + common regeneration)
Unit system
are fully integrated. The availa-
Incinerator ble area allocated for the
Flash gas greenfield part of the project was
Tail
Acid gas a single 365 x 150 m zone,
HV gas
already occupied by approxi-
mately 100 x 150 m of existing
Raw HP MP Preflash Regenerator
SRU +
TGT instrumentation and HVAC facil-
gas absorption flash column hydrogenation
(KTI Spa) ities. One of the most impressive
Tail
gas achievements of the project has
1100 MMSCFD
Rich
Lean solvent been the installation of one 1.1
amine Lean solvent
Semi-lean solvent recycle bcfd gas treatment plant plus
880 t/d sulphur, tail gas and
incinerator units within 40 000
Figure 1 Gas treatment unit of the PMP project: arrangement of AGRU + SRU m2. The storage tank area was
left at the initial location.
followed by the feasibility study, pre-front end The project was completed in 2014 and the
engineering design (pre-FEED) and FEED of the plants went into operation in September 2014.
facilities from 2006 to 2008, the Technip- The feed flow of gas was quickly and successfully
Chiyoda joint venture (TCJV) was awarded the raised to the design capacity. The new plant
engineering procurement and construction (EPC) satisfactorily passed performance checks and
contract by Qatargas for the onshore work of the reception was at the beginning of 2015.
project in 2010. Technology selection for the The PMP project also hit records in term of
licensors of a new AGRU and sulphur plant was HSE management since the project team, along
carried out in 2006. Based on its preflash low with their contractors, worked over 42 million
BTX process, within the AdvAmine technology man-hours in a very difficult operating environ-
portfolio, Prosernat was initially appointed to ment, achieving world class safety performance,
supply the design of the new selective AGRU, including an exceptional total recordable inci-
while the sulphur plant is based on a technology dent rate (TRIR) of 0.23 for every 200 000
supplied by another company. hours worked. More importantly for Qatargas,
The initial phase had considered two parallel the project met the objectives of the company in
600 million scfd AGRU + SRU/TGTU trains term of its safety incident and injury free
within a separate plot area dedicated to AGRUs, culture, particularly in the application of the
another dedicated to SRU/TGTUs, and a third STOP safety observation programme, where a
for solvent storage tanks. For that phase, there peak workforce of 6500 completed over 665 000
was already a constraint in available space within observation cards, which helped identify and
the existing LNG trains, congested after the 2005 mitigate safety risks.
debottlenecking phase. The initial scheme had
resulted in stretching the distance between the Design of the new gas treatment unit
AGRU and the SRU of each train. The selected process scheme for the new AGRU
The project eventually went to a fast track is the preflash low BTX (see Figure 1). It includes
review FEED in 2008. Qatargas decided that a low pressure preflash of rich MDEA solvent in
more space constraints could be solved by a single a dedicated column installed upstream the
train, with additional and significant benefits on MDEA regenerator, with routing of the recov-
project costs. Qatargas therefore considered a ered gas to the TGT absorber. The possibility to
single train of 1.1 bcfd with integrated AGRU + recycle a part of the acid gas from the regenera-
SRU + TGTU, installed within a single plot area. tor overhead to the preflash column for an
Optimisation has also been achieved thanks to a enrichment step was also implemented for
patented design proposed by Prosernat, in which leaner H2S feed gas cases (containing 1 mol%
all the amine units and sections of the plant (low H2S) and for the turndown case. The proposed

2 Gas 2016 www.digitalrefining.com/article/1001270

scheme is based on AdvAmine
Operating cases of the new gas treatment plant
technology. It gives additional
flexibility in terms of gas
Case Feed gas composition Feed gas, Feed gas Acid gas H2S
composition range and also effi- CO2 content, H2S content, flow rate, temperature, content to
cient operating adjustment. Acid % mole % mole MMscfd C SRU, % mole
dry basis dry basis
gas feeds the SRU, followed by a Design P90
hydrogenation and quench Summer 3.2874 2.0741 1 100 40.0 54
Design P90
section for tail gas. The tail gas Summer 3.2874 2.0741 1 100 40.0 60
from the TGT absorber goes to Normal P50
an incinerator, installed close to Winter 3.1170 1.8273 975 22.4 60
Turndown 2.5136 1.0000 620 40.0 54
the new units.
The plant also takes advantage Table 1
of the integration of a high pres-
sure absorber and tail gas Contaminants present in the feed gas
absorber. Semi-lean solvent
from the TGT absorber is recy- Case Design case Normal case Turndown case
cled to the high pressure Composition case P90 Summer 2021 P50 Winter 2011 1% mol H2S
Composition ppmv ppmv ppmv
absorber after mixing with fresh CycloC5+ 0.0395 0.0286 0.0496
lean solvent from regeneration. Aromatics 0.0401 0.0400 0.0400
COS 0.0030 0.0030 0.0030
The scope of Prosernat as Mercaptans 0.0270 0.0270 0.0270
AdvAmine process licensor
covered the design of the Table 2
complete amine unit, including
the AGRUs high pressure absorber, the preflash system is supplied to the downstream sulphur
column, the TGT absorber and the solvent plant in respect of the following specifications:
regenerator. Due to the highly integrated amine, 1.15 barg at the inlet SRU knockout drum, at a
SRU process configuration, heat and material temperature of 45C and with 54% mol H2S
balances were prepared by iterative calculations minimum wet basis. Operating cases at 60% H2S
between Prosernat and the SRU licensor. in the acid gas were also requested by Qatargas.

Sour feed gas Flash gas

The new gas treatment unit allows for four design
and operating cases. There is a single design for
the AGRU, but this design covers the complete
range of feed gas flow rates and compositions
shown in Table 1.
The feed gas pressure for all cases is 73.8 bara.
The new plant was allocated only a 1.0 bar pres-
sure drop between the inlet and outlet battery
limits.
The feed gas includes mercaptans, COS and
aromatics, which the new unit has to accommo-
date. These are detailed in Table 2.
Gas specifications
Treated gas
The new treatment plant has to produce an acid
gas with a maximum of 600 ppmv H2S and 1.8%
vol CO2, at 50C.
Acid gas
The acid gas from the solvent regeneration
The flash gas produced by the flash vessel has to
meet a 50 ppmv H2S specification at 7 barg.
Tail gas
The TGT treated gas from the TGT absorber has
to contain 250 ppmv H2S (wet basis) maximum
at near atmospheric pressure to feed the
incinerator.
Sulphur plant and incinerator
The capacity of the SRU is 874 t/d of sulphur for
the maximum H2S design case. Turndown capac-
ity is 235 t/d of sulphur.
The sulphur recovery efficiency is 99.25% of
the total sulphur contained in the sulphur feed.
The design of the sulphur plant accommodates a
maximum of 500 ppmv aromatics and 500 ppmv
mercaptans in the acid gas.
The rundown of bright yellow sulphur
complies with the following main specification:
Purity (dry basis) wt%: 99.8 wt%

www.digitalrefining.com/article/1001270 Gas 2016 3


Treated
gas
HP AGRU
absorber
Fuel
gas
Feed
gas
Figure 2 Initial configuration proposed by Prosernat for the AGRU
H2S plus H2Sx 350 ppmwt
Organic matter as carbon 400 ppmwt
Ash 200 ppmwt
Acidity (as H2SO4) 50 ppmwt
No dark particles.
Incinerator specifications are:
H2S plus COS plus CS2 50 mg/Nm3 @ 2% vol
O2
Carbon monoxide 5000 mg/Nm3 @ 2% vol O2
BTX plus C6+ conversion in % 99.9
Base case
When the project went to selection of licensed
technologies at the end of 2005, Qatargas was
looking for a single technology licensor for gas
sweetening (including potential enrichment of
the acid gas upstream the SRU) and for the TGT
absorber. The latter was to include hydrogena-
tion plus quench of the tail gas, followed by an
H2S absorber. Qatargas went to a separate bid
for the AGRU/TGTU absorber and the SRU/
hydrogenation and quench sections. The tech-
nology specified for gas sweetening was to be an
amine based technology.
The need for a selective AGRU technology was
obvious and MDEA processes were proposed.
However, the quality of acid gas sent to the SRU
contains in some cases less than 50% H2S,
contaminated by aromatics and mercaptans.
These are potentially harmful to efficient opera-
4 Gas 2016
Acid
gas SRU +
hydrogenation
+ quench
AGRU + TGTU
common
regenerator
TGTU
absorber
tion of the SRU unit. Therefore, the question of
enrichment of the gas was raised.
Optimisation of the needs of the new units in
terms of utilities and installation area was also
carefully considered since the new installations
were to be built within one existing plant. Steam
and cooling water supplies available in the exist-
ing facilities might be limited. However,
Qatargas could expect to minimise the debottle-
necking works at the centralised utilities
generation plant if new demands made of it were
moderate. Basically, the need to handle the vari-
ous cases in two trains of 800 million scfd
design capacity the initial configuration of the
project after the conceptual study, where the
normal flow rate to the trains was to be 600
million scfd with a design capacity set at 800
million scfd required a 540 m3/h amine based
high pressure AGRU and a 240 m3/h TGTU per
train. The corresponding reboiling duties could
be estimated at 39 MW for the AGRU and 16
MW for the TGTU at regeneration.
Prosernat bid with a first configuration in
which the rich solvent of both the AGRU and the
TGT absorber were regenerated commonly in a
single column, and the solvent from the TGT
absorber, partially loaded with H2S and CO2, was
reused in the AGRUs high pressure absorber.
The arrangement gave significant savings
compared to a solution with two separate units,
www.digitalrefining.com/article/1001270
since the total solvent flow rate was eventually
600 m3/h and the reboiler duty was only 48
MW. The process configuration is shown in
Figure 2.
For this configuration, the acid gas loading is
0.67 mole of acid gas per mole of amine in
solvent. The solvent loading is no higher than in
MDEA gas sweetening plants based on AdvAmine
technology in operation for many years in similar
ambient conditions in UAE. The acid gas
produced by the design case has 53% mol H2S
wet basis, and approximately 1200 ppmv aromat-
ics and mercaptans. Although the basis of the
design of the SRU had not put restrictions on the
BTX content for the bid evaluation of SRU licen-
sors, it appeared that the content of aromatics in
the acid gas became an issue for the design of the
SRU. Even for lean cases, the high pressure
AGRU delivers acid gas with less than 45% mol
H2S, but still with 800-1000 ppmv aromatics.
The configuration of the SRU had to be
adapted to handle such feed gases, and has to
rely on more complex technologies to design the
Claus thermal stage. Technologies such as co-fir-
ing with fuel gas or enrichment of air with
oxygen were not required by Qatargas.
Quality of the acid gas charge of the SRU
The problem with the quality of acid gas is the
aromatic content (1200 ppmv) associated with a
low content of H2S (45-53%). The H2S content is
insufficient to cause full oxidation of these
aromatics in the thermal stage of the sulphur
plant.
Remedies can focus on two fronts:
Reducing aromatics in the acid gas
Increasing the content of H2S in the acid gas to
allow complete oxidation of the aromatics at the
thermal stage of the Claus unit (generally above
1050C).
Reducing aromatics in acid gas
Known industrial solutions can involve treating
the acid gas on activated carbon beds for
adsorption of hydrocarbons. This technology
has been developed by Saudi Aramco and has
been widely used in Saudi Arabian gas plants.
It seems to have some drawbacks: the effective-
ness of activated carbon is better for light
aromatics (benzene), and there is a need to
regenerate the beds periodically. Finally, the
size of the beds themselves is very large. In the
www.digitalrefining.com/article/1001270
PMP case, the quantity of aromatics approached
3.6 t/d in the acid gas. The space constraints of
the project could not permit such a
configuration.
Another approach would be to process the acid
gas in an additional low pressure MDEA unit,
which would solve the issue twice: by first
strongly decreasing the aromatic content of the
H2S rich gas (the partial pressure of these
compounds is considerably lower than in the
raw gas, to limit absorption by MDEA); and
secondly, by selectively absorbing H2S but slip-
ping CO2, to produce a gas enriched with H2S at
the regenerator. The major drawback would be
the cost of this second wash (another selective
amine unit almost as expensive as a high pres-
sure AGRU). There would be also an additional
loss of sulphur in the CO2 released to the incin-
erator since the concept adds one supplementary
absorber.
Eventually, Qatargas wanted to study the
enrichment of acid gas to increase the content of
H2S and reduce the content of mercaptans and
aromatics. In this case, the integrated amine high
pressure absorber and TGT absorbers in one
common regenerator already proposed by
Prosernat delivers a situation conducive to less
costly solutions:
Integrating enrichment to the TGTU with a
dedicated absorber
Improving the selectivity of the high pressure
gas sweetening unit upwards to a quality that
allows complete oxidation of aromatics at the
thermal stage of the Claus unit, using Prosernats
preflash low BTX process.
Integrating an enrichment absorber in the
TGTU
The bulk H2S specification requested in the
treated gas (600 ppmv) enables the valorisation
of semi-lean amine from the TGT absorber for
reuse in the high pressure absorber. The benefit
is still seen if an acid gas enrichment absorber is
installed, despite increased loadings of acid gas
in the solvent. It is even possible to consider two
low pressure absorbers installed in series, so that
the problem of increased rejection of H2S to the
incinerator is mitigated. The scheme is shown in
Figure 3. A fraction of the acid gas produced by
the regenerator is washed in a dedicated absorber
(which can be the lower part of a stacked TGT
absorber in a patented process) installed close to
Gas 2016 5

Treated
gas
AGRU + TGTU
common
HP AGRU
regenerator
absorber
Fuel
gas
Feed
gas
Figure 3 Enrichment by integration of the acid gas absorber in the TGTU
the absorber of the TGTU. The gain is the use of
the remaining absorption capacity in the semi-
lean amine flowing from the TGT absorber after
the tail gas is cleaned up.
The purpose of this operation is to partially
enrich the acid gas and slip the aromatics
contained in the fraction of acid gas. The effec-
tiveness of the operation is directly related to the
amount of acid gas that is recycled, at increasing
cost. Furthermore, rich amine from the bottom of
the AGRU absorber is much more concentrated
than the one coming from the TGTU. Its use in
the high pressure absorber can become problem-
atic. It is then necessary to increase the flow of
fresh solvent.
AdvAmine preflash low BTX process
The configuration shown in Figure 4 adds a
supplementary low pressure flash tower upstream
the regenerator to flash the rich solvent after
preheating. The vapour produced is recycled to
the TGT absorber, while the rich amine liquid
solvent is routed to the head of the regenerator.
The arrangement had been already implemented
6 Gas 2016
SRU +
hydrogenation
+ quench
TGTU
absorber
AGEU
absorber
by Total in the 1980s when the company oper-
ated selective MDEA plants in the gas plant at
Lacq, France.
The advantages of this new system are
multiple:
Firstly, the low pressure flash of a rich amine
solvent preferentially vaporises CO2, which is a
simple way to enrich the rich solvent in H2S, then
the acid gas from the regenerator.
Secondly the flash of the rich amine solvent
also releases a large fraction of aromatics, which
is sent into the absorber of the TGTU, then evac-
uated to the incinerator.
The efficiency of this arrangement is far greater
than the efficiency of recycling acid gas, mainly
because the concentration of H2S in the flash gas
is significantly lower than in acid gas. The semi-
lean solvent from the TGTU is then less
concentrated in H2S and more useable in the
high pressure absorber to spare the use of fresh
amine.
The operating pressure of the preflash column
is adjustable by operators, to control the enrich-
ment power of recirculation in respect of the
www.digitalrefining.com/article/1001270
 Pre-flash
tower
SRU +
hydrogenation
+ quench
Treated
gas

HP AGRU
absorber

Fuel AGRU + TGTU

gas common
regenerator
Feed
gas

TGTU
absorber

Figure 4 Preflash low BTX process with integration of semi-lean solvent from the TGTU

composition and flow of sour feed gas to the high 800 million scfd design case is shown in Table 3.
pressure AGRU. The lower the operating pressure Based on these results, the AdvAmine preflash
of the preflash column, the higher the content of low BTX process proposed by Prosernat was
H2S in acid gas to the SRU. At PMP, the configu- finally selected by Qatargas for the project.
ration is available to adjust the concentration of At the more detailed optimisation phase at the
acid gas between 54% mol (when the operating beginning of the FEED phase, Prosernat consid-
pressure of the preflash column is 4 barg) to 60% ered the addition of a specific recycle of hot acid
mol or more, at lower operating pressures. gas from the top of the regenerator to the
Despite higher recirculation flows of low pres- preflash tower via a dedicated line. The scheme,
sure flash gas, and therefore more acid gas in based on solutions patented by Total when it
semi-lean solvent from the TGTU tower, the 600 operated the Lacq plant, improves more signifi-
ppmv H2S content requested at the top of the cantly the quality of acid gas. It acts as a
high pressure absorber still
allows recycling of significant Comparison of three schemes in the initial FEED phase
amounts of semi-lean solvent,
without risking the H2S specifi- Initial design Acid gas Preflash low
cation. The arrangement saves recycle of TGTU enrichment BTX process
solvent and common in TGTU
substantially on reboiling duties. regeneration
Total amine flow, Sm3/hr 600 1050 900
Reboiler duty, MW 48 75 65
Comparison of performances H2S content in acid gas, % mol wet 53 59 60
between the schemes BTX content in acid gas, ppmv wet 1200 800-900 310
The performances of each H2S concentration from HP AGRU absorber, ppmv 600 600 310
H2S concentration from LP TGTU absorber, ppmv 250 250 250
process were evaluated and the
results were proposed to
Qatargas. A comparison for the Table 3

www.digitalrefining.com/article/1001270 Gas 2016 7

 Pre-flash
tower
Treated
gas
HP AGRU
absorber
Fuel
gas
Feed
gas
Figure 5 Preflash low BTX process with acid gas recycle to TGTU
superenrichment process configuration in the
worst conditions. This option allows more H2S to
be sent to the TGTU and is operated only when
the unit has extra quantities of fresh solvent
available from the regenerator in turndown
conditions. The pressure of the preflash tower
needs to be below that of the regenerator top to
circulate acid gas. For PMP, the connection is
activated only for turndown 1% and start-up
cases. Figure 5 details the arrangement.
Description of the acid gas treatment unit
A process scheme of the acid gas treatment unit
is shown in Figure 6.
In the high pressure section, the raw feed gas is
first filtered then contacted with an amine solvent
that is a mix of a very lean solvent and semi-lean
amine solvent already used in the TGT absorber.
The fraction of each amine solvent can be
adjusted to be as close as possible to the required
H2S specification, and the number of trays in the
absorber is adjustable to control CO2 slippage.
The treated gas is cooled through a vertical direct
8 Gas 2016
SRU +
hydrogenation
Acid gas + quench
recycle
AGRU + TGTU
common
regenerator
TGTU
absorber
cooler, operating with a closed cooling water
loop, to limit the pressure drop of the high pres-
sure section. It also enables water wash of the
solvent to limit solvent losses to downstream
units.
The rich amine recovered at the bottom of the
MDEA absorber is released at 7 barg through a
level control valve. The flash gas is treated with a
slipstream of lean amine in a dedicated absorber
stacked on the medium pressure flash drum.
The rich solvent is then pre-heated with the
lean solvent from the bottom of the regenerator
through the rich/lean MDEA exchangers. The hot
rich solvent then feeds the preflash column at
reduced pressure. The flash of the rich solvent
releases some of the acid gases, mostly CO2, and
hydrocarbons. The operating pressure is adjusta-
ble. It controls the differential ratio of released
CO2 to H2S. The gas recovered at the top of the
preflash column is cooled and reflux water is sent
back to the column.
The flash gas is mixed with the tail gas from
the SRU hydrogenation section and feeds the
www.digitalrefining.com/article/1001270
 Treated
gas
AGRU
pre-flash
tower
Acid gas
recycle
HP AGRU
absorber
Fuel
gas
Feed
gas
Figure 6 Flow scheme of the acid gas treatment plant, including AGRU, SRU and TGTU
TGT absorber, where it is contacted with fresh
solvent from the regenerator to achieve H2S
specification.
The rich amine from the preflash column is
sent to the regenerator where H2S and CO2 are
stripped by the vapour generated in the reboiler.
The top of the regenerator is equipped with a
direct condensing section where acid gas is
cooled by a flow of water circulating in a closed
loop. This arrangement maximises the available
pressure of the acid gas at the AGRUs battery
limit. It was set at the FEED stage to limit the
footprint and diameter of the acid gas headers to
the SRU, with higher allowable pressure drop.
The new AGRU is equipped with an acid gas
line that allows recycling of acid gas from the top
of the regenerator to the preflash column. This
facility is used to meet the minimum H2S content
of the acid gas even when the feed gas contains
only 1% of H2S. The line can also be used during
turndown conditions.
The lean solvent from the bottom of the MDEA
www.digitalrefining.com/article/1001270
SRU +
hydrogenation
+ quench
Sulphur
AGRU
regenerator
TGTU
absorber
Reboilers
LP steam
regenerator is cooled in the rich/lean MDEA
exchangers. Air cooling and water cool the
solvent.
Cooled lean amine solvent feeds the high pres-
sure absorber, the medium pressure absorber
and the TGT absorber. Filtration is achieved with
cartridges filters installed on a side stream of the
lean solvent loop. The semi-lean solvent from the
TGT absorber is also filtered before recycling to
the lean solvent loop.
Depending on the feed gas composition (H2S/
CO2 ratio and feed gas flow), the operating condi-
tions of the AGRU are adjusted to achieve the
required specifications, especially the concentra-
tion of H2S in acid gas. Two parameters are
essential and specific to the good operation of the
unit: the recycle rate of semi-lean amine in the
solvent feed to the high pressure absorber; and
the operating pressure of the preflash column.
Design challenges
Beyond the elaborated multi-column process
Gas 2016 9
 scheme, the project has been a great challenge in
terms of the design and concept of mega-sized
equipment:
The high pressure AGRU absorber fitted with
trays has an inside diameter of more than 6.5 m
and is one of the largest high pressure columns
amongst AdvAmine references. Close attention
has been paid to optimisation of the tower size
and to the design of the trays.
The AGRU regenerator has an inside diameter
of 9 m at the bottom; its height is more than 41
m as the direct condenser is stacked vertically on
top of it. This tower ranks as the biggest ever
regenerator design using AdvAmine technology.
The AGRU regenerator bottom has a buffer
capacity as there is no surge tank installed in the
solvent loop, but installed outside the AGRUs
battery limit at some distance.
The 1.1 bcfd AGRU is one of the largest for
sour gas treatment in a single train amongst
AdvAmine references.
The start-up and the successful operation of
plant
Start-up chronology
Start-up of the AGRU was completed at the end
of September 2014, and all new PMP units
(AGR4 and SRU4) were running in a smooth and
stable way by mid-October 2014. First sulphur
was produced on 10 October 2014.
This article is based on a presentation to the International
00 Gas 2016
Petroleum Technology Conference, Doha, Qatar, 6-9 December
2015 and published with the permission of the Society of
Petroleum Engineers.
Gauthier Perdu is Deputy VP Process and Application with
Prosernat, in charge of technologies. He is an expert in the field
of sweetening of natural gases and disposal of acid gases. He
graduated from ENSIGC Toulouse in 1995 as Dipl. Engineer and
with a postgraduate certificate in chemical engineering.
Laurent Normand is Business Development Manager with
Prosernat, in charge of sales, licensing and technology
development for gas treatment and CO2 capture. He started his
career at Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory (USA) and IFPEn (France).
He holds a PhD from Ecole des Mines de Paris and graduated as
an engineer from the engineering school of physics ENSPG-INPG
in France.
Geraldine Laborie is an Amine Technologies Process Expert with
Prosernat, in charge of basics development, amine unit detailed
engineering, amine unit troubleshooting and upgrades with
experience in amine unit start-up, operations and survey. She
graduated as an engineer from the National Institute of Applied
Sciences (INSA) of Toulouse, France.
Omar Alhatou is a Process Engineering Specialist with Qatargas.
He holds a BSc degree in chemical engineering from the
University of Jordan.
LINKS
More articles from: Prosernat
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Gas Processing and Treatment
Sulphur Removal, Recovery and Handling
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