GAS SWEETENING PROCESS

Acid gas considerations

 Acid gases: Natural gas contains some impurities
such as: H2S, CO2, water vapor and heavy
hydrocarbons such as mercaptanes.
 Sour gases: Natural gas with H2S and other sulfur
compounds (COS, CS2)
Sweet gas: Natural gas without H2S and other
sulfur compounds
Acid gas considerations
 Gas sales contracts limit concentration of acid compounds

CO2 Limitations H2S Limitations

2-4% for pipelines 4 ppm (API)

Lowers Btu content H2S is toxic

CO2 is corrosive H2S is corrosive

200 ppm for LNG plants 2 ppm for LNG plants

0.0004% H2S
Sweetening Process
 Absorption system
 Adsorption system
Absorption systems
 The use of absorbers to remove undesired components in
vapor and gas streams has increases since 1990.
 Absorption can occur in liquid droplet (counter-current
flow) which is dispersed in the gas stream. The given
compounds will then react with the liquid droplets and form
a product soluble in the liquid
Absorption systems
Absorption systems
 Absorption processes can be separated into 2 main groups:
 Physical solvent processes (Fluor solvent, Sufinol, Selexol)
 Chemical solvent processes (Amines, Carbonates)
Physical solvent processes
 Physical solvent systems are based on the gas solubility within
a solvent instead of chemical reaction. The use of physical
solvent process may result in significant loss of heavier mole
weight hydrocarbons (gas stream in rich C3+).
 Some circumstances considerations:
 PP of acid gases higher than 50 psi
 Low heavy hydrocarbons concentration
 Selective of H2S removal is required
 Only bulk removal of acid gas is required
Physical solvent processes
Chemical solvent processes
 Chemical solvent processes use an aqueous solution of a weak
base to react and absorb the acid gases. Absorption occurs
when the partial pressure differential between gas and liquid
phases
 Aqueous base solution can be regenerated by changing the
system temperature, pressure or both.
Amine processes
 Amines are organic compounds with ammonia (NH3). All
commonly used amines are alkanolamines, which are amines
with an OH group.
 Amines remove H2S and CO2 follow in 2 steps:
 The gas dissolved in the liquid (physical absorption)
 The dissolved gas reacts with the weakly basic amines
Amine processes
Process Description
 Most common amine processes remove CO2 and H2S to meet pipeline
specifications:
 MEA (15-20%wt)
 DEA (25-35%wt)
 Operating issues:
 Corrosion: due to amine concentration, rich amine acid gas
loading,…
 Foaming: Foaming of the liquid amine solution is a major problem
because it results in poor vapor−liquid contact, poor solution
distribution, and solution holdup with resulting carryover and off
spec gas. Among the causes of foaming are suspended solids, liquid
hydrocarbons, etc
Process Description
Absorption system
Inlet scrubber: removes slugs and drops of condensed
hydrocarbons, produced water, corrosion inhibitors and well
treating chemicals from the inlet sour gas stream
Absorption system
The presence of
entrained liquids, most
commonly slugs of
produced water (saline)
must be removed because
these contaminants may
cause amine foaming
equipment fouling,
solvent loss and high
corrosion rates
Absorption system
Absorber tower: use
counter-current flow to
through trayed tower to
provide intimate mixing
between the amine
solvent and the sour gas
so that the acid gases can
transfer from the gas
phase to the solvent liquid
phase.
Absorption system
• 20 trays are the standard
design, as is the inclusion
of a mist pad above the
top tray to remove any
liquid carryover from the
sweet gas and prevent
contamination of
downstream equipment.
• The typical tray spacing is
18 to 24 inches and the
distance between the top
tray and the mist pad is 3-
4 ft.
Regeneration system
Flash vessel: is designed to remove soluble and entrained HC
from the amine solution to maximize HC recovery as well as
reduce the amine solution foaming potential
Regeneration system
The flash vessel should have adequate instrumentation and level
gauges to enable operational personnel to check periodically
for the presence of a hydrocarbon layer on top of the amine
solution.
The flash vessel design should incorporate an internal baffle
system above that allows the hydrocarbon collected in the
vessel to be routinely skimmed off.
Normal operating pressure of flash tank ranges from 5 to 75
psig and recommended residence times are 10-15 minutes for
2-phase and 20-30 minutes for 3-phase vessels.
Regeneration system
Heat exchanger: preheats the rich amine solution and cools
the lean amine, which decreases the duty of the reboiler as well
as the duty of cooler.
Shell & Tube Heat exchanger is commonly used in amine
processes.
Theory: Two fluids, of different starting temperatures, flow
through the heat exchanger. One flows through the tubes (the
tube side) and the other flows outside the tubes but inside the
shell (the shell side).
 Regeneration system
Heat is
transferred from
one fluid to the
other through
the tube walls,
either from tube
side to shell side
or vice versa.
The fluids can be
either liquids or
gases on either
the shell or the
tube side.

In order to transfer heat efficiently, a large heat transfer area should be used, leading to
the use of many tubes. In this way, waste heat can be put to use. This is an efficient way
to conserve energy.
Regeneration system
Stripper/Reboiler: The purpose of the stripper is to
regenerate the amine solution by stripping the rich amine of the
H2S and CO2 with steam generated by the reboiler to break
the bonds between amine solution and acid gases.
Technical parameters:
- A typical stripper operates at 10-15 psig
- The reboiler should be set to achieve a specified stripper
overhead temperature, typically 230-250 degree F
Regeneration system
Filters: to remove a variety of contaminants accumulating in
amine system.
 Mechanical filter: is placed after flash tank to remove
accumulated particulate contaminants from the amine
solution enhancing foaming and aggravate corrosion (full
flow and remove 95% of 10 microns or larger particles)
 Carbon filter: is installed before cooler to improve the
quality of the amine feed stream (usually sized for 10-25% of
circulation rate)
Regeneration system
Pumps: a booster pump and main circulation pump are
included in the amine process
 Booster pump: are usually centrifugal pump, located
downstream of the amine stripper to provide enough heat
(25-40 psi) to flow the lean amine into the surge tank (100%
standby capacity recommended)
 Circulation pump: to boost the lean amine from the surge
tank to meet the operating pressure of the absorber. Both
centrifugal and positive displacement pumps are used in this
application
Design procedure
 Procedure for sizing amine system
 Process selection
 Determine amine circulation rate
 Calculate reboiler duty
 Absorber heat balance
 Determine flash tank size
 Determine rich/lean amine exchanger duty
 Set the stripped overhead condenser temperature and calculate the
flow rates of acid gases and steams
 Determine the condenser duty and reflux rate
 Size the reflux accumulator
 Determine the lean amine cooler duty
 Determine horsepower requirements for the booster pump
Amine System
 Example: Amine Processing
Given:
Gas volume = 100 MMSCFD
Gas gravity = 0.67
Pressure = 1000 psig
Gas temperature = 100˚F
CO2 inlet = 4.03%
CO2 outlet = 2%
H2S inlet = 19 ppm
H2S outlet = 4 ppm
Max. ambient temperature = 100˚F
Step 1: Process Selection
 Four scenarios are possible for acid gas removal:
 CO2 removal from a gas that contains no H2S
 H2S removal from a gas that contains no CO2
 Simultaneous removal of both CO2 and H2S
 Selective removal of H2S from a gas that contains both CO2,
H2S
 Partial pressure is defined as:
Step 1: Process Selection
Step 1: Process Selection
Step 1: Process Selection
Step 1: Process Selection
Step 2: Amine Circulation Rate
 The circulation rates for amine systems can be determined
from the acid gas flow rates by selecting:
 Solution concentration
 Acid gas loading
 The circulation rate should be increased by 10-15% to supply
an excess of amine.
Step 2: Amine Circulation Rate
 For MEA:

LMEA: MEA solution circulation rate (gpm)

Qg: gas flow rate (MMSCFD)
XA: required reduction in total acid gas fraction (moles acid gas
removed/mole inlet gas)
c: amine weight fraction (lbs amine/lbs solution)
ρ: solution density (8.41 lbs/gal)
AL: acid gas loading (0.33 mole acid gas/mole amine)
Step 2: Amine Circulation Rate
 For DEA:

LMEA: MEA solution circulation rate (gpm)

Qg: gas flow rate (MMSCFD)
XA: required reduction in total acid gas fraction (moles acid gas
removed/mole inlet gas)
c: amine weight fraction (lbs amine/lbs solution)
ρ: solution density (8.71 lbs/gal)
AL: acid gas loading (0.5 mole acid gas/mole amine)
Step 3: Calculate reboiler duty
 The amine reboiler provides the heat input to an amine
stripper, where reverses the chemical reactions and
drives off the acid gases
 The higher reboiler duty will give higher overhead
condenser duty and reflux ratio  smaller column
with fewer trays.
Step 3: Calculate reboiler duty
 The operating temperature for amine reboilers is
determined by
 Operating pressure (often 10 psig)
 The lean solution concentration
 Typical reboiler temperature ranges:
 MEA: 225-260˚F (107-127˚C)
 DEA: 230-250˚F (110-121˚C)
Step 3: Calculate reboiler duty

Qreb: reboiler duty (Btu/h)

Step 4: Absorber Heat Balance
 Amine outlet temp. can be estimated through a heat balance
around the column

 Set the inlet amine is typically 10˚F hotter than inlet gas
and assume gas leaving absorber has 5˚F approach to
inlet amine
Step 4: Absorber Heat Balance
 The heat of reaction is release when the amine and gas
first contact and react. (Table)
 Heat lost to atmosphere depends on atmospheric
temperature, surface area,… (5% reaction heat)
Step 4: Absorber Heat Balance
Step 4: Absorber Heat Balance
Step 5: Determine flash tank size
 The rich amine solution form the absorber is flashed to
remove any absorbed hydrocarbons and small amount of acid
gas.

 Max. CO2 flashed = moles CO2 absorbed x MCO2

 The flash vessels provide 2-3 min of retention time for

operating half full.
Step 6: Rich/lean amine exchanger
 Purpose: reduce the regenerator duty by recovering some of
the sensible heat form the lean amine
 Method: assume an approach temperature for one outlet to
determine the outlet temperature and duty
 30˚F approach of rich amine to lean amine
 reboiler temperature
Step 6: Rich/lean amine exchanger
The exchanger duty can be estimated by

q: exchanger duty (Btu/h)

L: amine circulation rate (gpm)
CP: amine specific heat (Btu/lbs ˚F)
∆T: amine temp change (˚F)
Step 7: Stripped Overhead
 Method: Set the stripper overhead condenser temperature and calculate
the flow rates of acid gas and steam.
 Condenser temp at 30˚F above max. ambient temp
 Stripper at 10-15 psig and reflux drum 0-5 psig less than operating
regenerator
Step 7: Stripped Overhead

Vr: mole rate of vapor leaving condenser (lb-mole/h)

PR: reflux drum pressure (psig)
AG: moles acid (lb-mol/day)
PPH2O: partial pressure of water at condenser outlet temp (psia)

WH2O: water flow rate lost from condenser

(lbs/h)
MH2O: molecular weight of H2O (18 lb/lb-mole)
Step 8: Condenser duty & Reflux rate
 Method: Assume the condenser duty

qcond: condenser duty (Btu/h)

qla: heat required to raise lean amine from
the stripper inlet temp to regenerator temp
(Btu/h)
qag: heat of reaction of acid gases (Btu/h)

 Assume top tray temperature of 210˚F, calculate the amount of

heat duty to cool the moles of vapor leaving the condenser from
top tray temp to condenser outlet temp
Step 8: Condenser duty & Reflux rate
 The amount of reflux can be calculated as

Wreflux: reflux rate (lbs/h)

qvr: heat duty to cool overhead vapors to condenser outlet
temp (Btu/h)
hs: enthalpy of steam at top tray temp (Btu/lbs)
hL: enthalpy of water at condenser outlet temp (Btu/lbs)
Step 8: Condenser duty & Reflux rate
 Calculate the vapors leaving the top tray (lb-mole/day)

 Calculate the partial pressure of water in top vapors

 Find the temperature of vapor leaving from the steam tables. If

this temperature is different from one assumed, the calculations
should be repeated until the assumed and the calculated are the
same.
Step 8: Condenser duty & Reflux rate
Step 8: Condenser duty & Reflux rate
Step 8: Condenser duty & Reflux rate
Step 9: Reflux accummulator
 Reflux accumulator is a separator used to separate the acid
gases and steam from the condensed water
 Size the reflux accumulator for following conditions:
 Liquid volume
 Vapor volume
 Operating pressure
 Operating temperature
Step 10: Lean amine cooler
 Lean amine cooler duty can be calculated as

q: cooler duty (Btu/h)

Lla: lean amine flow rate ( lbs/h)
Cp: specific heat
Delta T: from exchanger outlet temp to contactor inlet temp
Step 11: Booster Pump & Circulation
pump
 Determine the lean amine booster pump and main
circulation pump requirements:

BHP: pump brake horsepower (HP)

dP: differential pressure (psi)
Lla: amine circulation rate (gpm)
e: pump efficiency (0.7 for centrifugal & 0.9 for reciprocating)
Adsorption systems
 Adsorption processes are the use of a fixed bed of solid
particles to remove acid gases either through chemical
reactions or through ionic bonding.
 In the adsorption process, the vapor or gas stream passes
through a stationary phase consisting of a highly porous
material termed as an adsorption bed or just the adsorbent.
The vapor phase compounds that are removed from the
stream in the adsorbent are termed the adsorbate.
Adsorption systems
 It will diffuse to the
surface of the
adsorbent and will be
adsorbed since the
attractive forces
between the adsorbent
and the adsorbate are
stronger than the
attractive forces
between the adsorbate
and the gas stream.
Iron Spronge process
 The iron sponge process is economically applied to gases
containing small amounts of H2S (<300 ppm) operating at
low to moderate pressures in the range of 50-500 psig
(344.7-3447 kPa). This process does not remove CO2.
 The reaction of iron oxide and H2S produces iron sulfide
and water as follows:
Fe2O3 + 3H2S  Fe2S3 + 3H2O
FeO + H2S  FeS + H2O
Iron Spronge process
 The reactions for oxygen regeneration are as follows:
2Fe2S3 + 3O2 + 2H2O  2Fe2O3(H2O) + 6S + Heat
4FeS + 3O2 + 2xH2O  2Fe2O3(H2O)x + 4S + Heat
S2 + 2O2  2SO2
 Hydrate considerations: Cooler operating temperatures of the
natural gas create the potential for hydrate formation in the iron
sponge bed. When the potential for hydrates exists, methanol can
be injected to inhibit their formation. If insufficient water is
present to absorb the methanol, it may coat the bed, forming
undesirable salts. Hydrocarbon liquids in the gas tend to
accumulate on the iron sponge media, thus inhibiting the
reactions.
Design procedure
 Determination of the iron sponge vessel diameter is a
function of the following variables
• Desired bed life
• Velocity through the bed
• Pressure-drop through the unit
• Contact time
• Channeling potential
Iron Sponge system
 Example:
Given:
Qg = 2 MMSCFD
SG = 0.6
z = 0.85
H2S = 19 ppm
P = 1200 psig
T = 100˚F
Mercaptans are now present
Step 1: Calculate Minimum vessel
diameter for gas velocity

dmin: minimum internal vessel diameter (in.)

Qg: gas flow rate (MMSCFD)
T: operating temperature (˚R)
Z: gas compressibility factor
P: operating pressure (psia)
Vgmax: maximum gas velocity (ft/s)

Note: Superficial gas velocity through the iron sponge bed is

normally limited to a maximum of 10 ft/s at actual flow
conditions to promote proper contact with the bed and
prevent excessive pressure drop.
Step 2: Calculate minimum vessel
diameter for deposition

dmin: minimum internal vessel diameter (in.)

Qg: gas flow rate (MMSCFD)
H2S: mole fraction of H2S
Ø: rate of deposition (H2S/min-ft2)

Note: The maximum rate of deposition of 15 grains of

H2S/min-ft2 of bed cross-sectional area is also
recommended to allow for the dissipation of the heat of
reaction
Step 3: Calculate maximum diameter
 An upper limit to the vessel diameter may be determined
by the following equation assuming a minimum velocity
of 2 ft/s:

dmax: maximum internal vessel diameter (in.)

Qg: gas flow rate (MMSCFD)
Vgmin: minimum gas velocity (ft/s)
Step 4: Choose a cycle time
 Theoretical bed life for the iron sponge between replacements is
determined from

Fe: iron sponge content (lbs Fe2O3/bushel)

tc: cycle time (days)
e: efficiency (0.65-0.8)

Note: Common grades are 6.5, 9, 15, or 20 lbs Fe2O3/bushel.

Step 4: Choose a cycle time
Find the value of H based on assumption each value of d from
dmin to dmax that we calculated from previous steps

d (in.) H (ft)

dmin

dmax

Considerations: The bed height (H) should be at lease 10 ft

for H2S and 20 ft for mercaptane removals.
Step 5: Volume of Iron sponge

Bu: iron sponge volume (bushels)

d: vessel diameter (in.)
H: bed height (ft)
Gas Sweetening Simulation
 Data:

Gas flow rate: 100 MMSCFD

Operating temp: 100 degree F
Operating pressure: 1000 psig
Step 1: Add components & fluid package

1. Choose Properties environment 4. Select the material

2. Select Component Lists 5. Choose the components
3. Click Add 6. Click Add
Step 1: Add components & fluid package

1. Choose Fluid
Packages
2. In this case,
select Acid
Gas –
Chemical
Solvents
Step 2: Define stream

1. Create a stream,
name Sour Gas
2. Input data
3. Select tab
Composition
4. Type information
in Mole fraction
Step 2: Define stream
Step 2: Define stream

1. Define other
stream named Lean
to Contactor
2. Input data for DEA
in both Conditions
& Composition tab
Step 2: Define stream
Step 3: Add inlet separator

Add Separator and define its Connection like the figure above
 Step 4: Add an absorber
1. Add Absorber unit 4. Type 20 for the Num of stages
2. Select inlet stream 5. Input 1000 psia and 1015 psia for P1 and Pn respectively
3. Name outlet stream 6. Click Run
Step 5: Add a valve

1. Type all the

information like
picture
2. Choose Parameters
tab
3. Input 90 psia for
Delta P
Step 5: Add a valve
Step 6: Add a flash tank

Procedure like adding Separator in step 1

Step 6: Add Heat exchanger

1. Add Heat exchanger unit ops

2. Select and name for inlet and outlet Tube & Shell
Step 6: Add Heat exchanger

3. Click Parameters tab

4. Change Tube Passes to 1
5. Input 5 psi for both Shell-
side and Tube-side Presure
Drop
Step 6: Add Heat exchanger

6. Click Worksheet -> Conditions

7. Input the Temperature for Rich to Strip
 Step 7: Add Stripper column

1. Add Stripper unit

2. Input all
information like
picture
3. Click Specs in
Design tab
Step 7: Add Stripper column

4. Add Column Duty, name Reboiler Duty (calculated)

5. Add Column Temperature, name T Top (assume Top tray temp is 210 degree F
6. Set OvhdVap Rate and Reboiler are Active, the remained Specs are Estimated
7. Click Run
Step 7: Add Stripper column

We can alter the number of

Iterations by selecting
Parameters tab -> Solver

For the Fixed Damping

Factor, we may input from
0.1-1.
Step 8. Add mixer and makeup water

1. Add mixer
2. Select inlets and name outlet stream
Step 8. Add mixer and makeup water

3. Click Worksheet tab

4. Input Temp and Pressure for Makeup H2O
5. Input Flow rate to meet the Lean DEA circulation rate
Step 9: Add a cooler
Step 9: Add a cooler

T input = T lean cool – T operating

P input = P lean cool – 5 (assume pressure drop through cooler is 5 psia)
Step 10: Add a pump
Step 10: Add a pump

Input pressure of Lean DEA to recycle is 1000 psia

 Step 11: Add Recycle

Recycle unit ops does not appear in reality. However, we use it as an intermediate function
to correlate the assumed and calculated values. The simulation will not operate if Recycle is
not presented.
Result
References
[1] Stewart, M. and Arnold, K. (2011). Surface Production
Operations. Burlington: Elsevier Science.
[2] Manning, F., Thompson, R., Manning, W., Buthod, P. and
Sublette, K. (1995). Oilfield processing. Tulsa, Okla:
PennWell.
[3] Kohl, A. and Nielsen, R. (2007). Gas purification.
Norwich, NY: Knovel.
[4] Abdel-Aal, H., Fahim, M. and Aggour, M.
(2016). Petroleum and gas field processing. Boca Raton:
CRC Press/Taylor & Francis.
[5] Engineering data book. (1987). Tulsa, Okla.: Gas
Processors Association.