UNIVERSITY OF THE EAST

COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING

“AMINE GAS TREATMENT”

SUB/SEC:
NME 4103 – ME 1

SUBMITTED BY:

TALADHAY, SHAWN T.

SUBMITTED TO:

ENGR. DIOSDADO C. DOCTOR

Table of Contents

I. INTRODUCTION..................................................................................3
II. THE AMINE UNIT.................................................................................4
III. WORKING PRINCIPLE.......................................................................6
IV. AMINE SYSTEM APPLICATION.........................................................7
V. CONTAMINATIONS IN AMINE SYSTEMS............................................8
VI. Piping and Instrumentation Diagram of Amine plant...................11
VII. P&ID Symbols used in Amine treating..........................................12
VIII. REFERENCES...................................................................................14
I. INTRODUCTION

In the oil and natural gas industry, amine scrubbing is a necessary process. It is
used in natural gas processing plants to ensure the quality of natural gas before selling
or further processing. The process of amine gas treatment involves dissolving and
removing carbon dioxide and hydrogen sulfide from the sour gases produced by the
refinery in order to create "sweet gas." Due to this, the procedure is also called as "gas
sweetening," "amine scrubbing," or "acid gas elimination." The Girbotol procedure, which
utilizes an absorber column and a regenerator unit, is a standard method of treating
amine gas.

The amine solution in the absorber absorbs carbon dioxide and hydrogen sulfide,
turning the acidic gas into a sweetened gas. The regenerator receives the amine
solution, which is now "rich" in hydrogen sulfide. Here, the "acid gas"—a mixture of
hydrogen sulfide and carbon dioxide—is driven off, allowing the lean amine to be
employed in the absorber unit once more.

Carbon dioxide, hydrogen sulfide, and other contaminants are often found in
natural gas streams. CO2 when combined with water creates carbonic acid which is
corrosive. CO2 also reduces the BTU value of gas and in concentrations of more that
2% or 3 % the gas is unmarketable. H2S is an extremely toxic gas that is also
tremendously corrosive to equipment. Amine sweetening processes remove these
contaminants so that the gas is marketable and suitable for transportation.

Processes within oil refineries or chemical processing plants that remove

hydrogen sulfide are referred to as "sweetening" processes because the odor of the
processed products is improved by the absence of hydrogen sulfide. An alternative to
the use of amines involves membrane technology. However, membrane separation is
less attractive due to the relatively high capital and operating costs as well as other
technical factors. The most commonly used amines in industrial plants are the
alkanolamines DEA, MEA, and MDEA. These amines are also used in many oil
refineries to remove sour gases from liquid hydrocarbons such as liquified petroleum gas
(LPG).

II. THE AMINE UNIT

What are Amines

Amines are one of the most important classes of organic compounds which can be
derived when we replace one or more hydrogen atoms of ammonia molecule with an
alkyl group. An amine is generally a functional group with a nitrogen atom having a lone
pair. Amines resemble ammonia structurally where nitrogen can bond up to 3 hydrogen
atoms. It is also characterized by various properties that are based on carbon
connectivity. In natural gas processing, an “amine” is an aqueous solution containing
several alkylamines. A variety of amines are used in the sweetening of acid gasses.
Which amine solution is used depends on several factors.

Amine treating plants

Amine treating plants remove CO2 (carbon dioxide) and H2S (hydrogen sulfide) from
natural gas. The process is known as gas sweetening or acid gas removal, using various
alkanolamines, commonly referred to as amines. The absorber (contactor) and
regenerator (stripper) are the two main components of an amine unit, along with any
supporting machinery. A process gas stream is initially passed through the absorber,
where the "lean" solvent removes H2S and CO2 from the gas stream. The regenerator
receives the now "rich" solvent and removes the acid gases before sending the
remaining gases to a flare or a sulfur recovery unit (SRU). Type and concentration on
the amine solvent are critical parameters for the definition of the amine sweetening
process.

Alternative stripper configurations include matrix, internal exchange, flashing feed,

and multipressure with split feed. Many of these configurations offer more energy
efficiency for specific solvents or operating conditions. Vacuum operation favors solvents
with low heats of absorption while operation at normal pressure favors solvents with high
heats of absorption. Solvents with high heats of absorption require less energy for
stripping from temperature swing at fixed capacity. The matrix stripper recovers 40% of
CO2 at a higher pressure and does not have inefficiencies associated with multipressure
stripper.

Energy and costs are reduced since the reboiler duty cycle is slightly less than
normal pressure stripper. An Internal Exchange stripper has a smaller ratio of water
vapor to CO2 in the overheads stream, and therefore less steam is required. The
multipressure configuration with split feed reduces the flow into the bottom section,
which also reduces the equivalent work.

Flashing feed requires less heat input because it uses the latent heat of water
vapor to help strip some of the CO2 in the rich stream entering the stripper at the bottom
of the column. The multipressure configuration is more attractive for solvents with a
higher heat of absorption. Since amine gas treatment is a closed process, it shouldn't
typically represent a serious occupational risk. The safety of this closed system is
preserved by following proper operating procedures to stop or treat corrosion. However,
for tasks like sampling, inspection, and maintenance processes, personal protective
equipment and administrative controls may be required.
 Furthermore, hazard controls may also be necessary due to the noise and heat
that can be generated by amine treatment facilities, and fire safety equipment should be
available if there is a possibility that an accidental chemical spill could reach a source of
ignition.

III. WORKING PRINCIPLE

Hydrogen sulfide, carbon dioxide, mercaptans are the contaminants which are the
most often found in natural gas streams. Due to high corrosion impact on the carbon
steel equipment and toxic pollution these contaminants are required to be removed
(sweetened) from the natural gas stream. Amine sweetening process is the most
common method for removing of H2S and CO2.

Gas enters the lower portion of the amine contactor and then moves to the upper
section of the vessel where it makes contact with the amine solution on the surface of
contact devices (random packing or valve trays). The contact section typically has seven
theoretical steps. Before complete separation and exiting through the top outlet,
sweetened gas leaves the contact portion and moves upward through the extended
disengagement stage. Solvent losses resulting from entrainment are decreased using
high efficiency mist eliminator equipment. Amine contactors have temperature
transmitters installed to track the temperature rise as the vessel's height increases.

Chemical compounds that are generated from ammonia are referred to as

amines. Industries that must eliminate acid impurities from a product before essential
refining can occur or the product can be used in commercial industrial applications
should treat the product with amine gas. Amine gas treatment plants are prone to
corrosion and use chemicals that could be dangerous for exposure if the facility's
integrity is compromised. As a result, using hazard controls is advised to make sure the
process is carried out safely.
 Amine gas treatment is an important process within the petrochemical and natural
gas industries, as well as in other industrial applications. Specific chemical refining
processes cannot function without the removal of acid contaminants. Further, the
removal of sulfur from gas products such as syngas may be required for the gas to meet
environmental health and safety emissions standards.

IV. AMINE SYSTEM APPLICATION

Traditional consumers of amine

systems include the oil and gas and
liquefied natural gas (LNG) sectors of the
economy. Another big amine user is
Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS)
technology, which is connected to the
production of chemicals, renewable fuels
like hydrogen and biomethane, and power
generation. These programs must take CO2, H2S, or both, out of their gas streams.
Purification may be necessary to meet emissions standards for environmental
compliance or to safeguard downstream processing units. LNG transfers also have
specification limits for the CO2 and H2S content to prevent corrosion in pipelines and to
ensure a minimum heating value of the product. All amine systems have a similar
process design.

The amine concentration in the absorbent aqueous solution is an important

parameter in the design and operation of an amine gas treating process. Depending on
which one of the following four amines the unit was designed to use and what gases it
was designed to remove, these are some typical amine concentrations, expressed as
weight percent of pure amine in the aqueous solution:

 Monoethanolamine: About 20 % for removing H2S and CO2, and about 32 % for
removing only CO2.
  Diethanolamine: About 20 to 25 % for removing H2S and CO2
 Methyldiethanolamine: About 30 to 55 % for removing H2S and CO2
 Diglycolamine: About 50 % for removing H2S and CO2

V. CONTAMINATIONS IN AMINE SYSTEMS

The CO2 and H2S from the sour gas stream are removed by an absorber in amine
systems, and the amine is cleaned by a regenerator. As a result, the amine runs in a
practically closed loop where it is continually recycled and utilised. Losses from the top
of the regenerator are made up for by top-up amine and make-up water. Recycled amine
enters the absorber through the top. Due to its lack of CO2 and H2S, it is referred to as
lean amine. Process gas is also rising from the tower's inlet at the same time. For the
absorption of CO2 and H2S, packing or trays in the absorber ensure maximum contact
between the gas and the amine. The amine that exits the tower's base is referred to as
"rich amine" because it is packed with CO2 and H2S. This rich amine travels via a
regenerator, where impurities are removed from the substance to make it lean amine
once more. While acid gas (heavy in CO2 and H2S) exits the absorber's overheads for
further processing or transport, clean process gas does not.

This rich amine travels via a regenerator, where impurities are removed from the
substance to make it lean amine once more. While acid gas (heavy in CO2 and H2S)
from the overheads of the regenerator is either burned on-site or transferred off-site to
underground storage, clean process gas exits the overheads of the absorber for further
processing or transfer.

Below are the Common causes of failure in amine systems:

 1. Localized corrosion in rich amine lines due to vapor flashing. This happens when
rich amine releases CO2 or H2S before reaching the regenerator, where this
release is designed to occur.
2. Stress corrosion cracking in carbon steel piping where there has been no post
weld heat treatment (PWHT).

3. Degradation of the amine. Virgin amine contains less than 1% of heat-stable

salts, but these build up over time due to continuous recycling. Levels of 2 to 3%
and higher can lead to corrosion on the lean amine circuit. Other causes of amine
degradation are high temperatures and contaminant ingress.
4. High fluid velocity or turbulence causes erosion-corrosion of piping and
equipment. This process condition can occur after the feed line control valve, or in
reboiler return lines.

Contamination in Amine Systems

 Amine Degradation. The effectiveness of the amine unit is strongly influenced by

the quality of the amine. A weak, unclean, or partially expended amine by heat
stable salts (HSS) cannot effectively clean gas. The active component for acid
gas pick up is "free" amine, which is amine that is not bound by HSS. The
strength of the target free amine varies depending on the amine utilized. The
amine salts in amine solution that do not disintegrate under regenerator
conditions are known as heat stable salts (HSS). These salts bind amine
molecules, preventing them from reacting with acid gas and causing corrosion
and fouling.
 Foaming. When forcefully stirred, such as on a tray in a gas absorber or
regenerator, amine solution turns foamy. Fortunately, the column continues to
operate normally as the froth quickly disappears in high-quality amine solution.
 However, this froth can be stabilized by changing the amine solution's surface
characteristics or, more frequently, by adding a third phase to the column. The
third phase can be a second liquid phase like a hydrocarbon or a solid like iron
sulfide. At the gas-liquid contact, the third phase takes place. In the tray
downcomer, the froth does not break as it normally would, and a condition similar
to jet flooding results.
 Corrosion. In general, all amines are considered non-corrosive. Much of an
amine unit is built of carbon steel. Steel reacts with H2S to form a layer of FeS on
the surface that protects the steel from further attack.
 Fouling. A common problem in amine systems is the accumulation of sludge or
scale on column trays and in still or low velocity areas of the unit. Scale formation
on trays leads to gradual choking of the hole area that gas needs to flop up the
column. This can result in jet flooding and loss of gas capacity in the column.
Areas with the low flow velocity such as the rich amine flash drum often
accumulate sludge; as the sludge accumulates it robs volume from the vessel and
if re-entrained adds to the solids load of the circulating amine.
VI. Piping and Instrumentation Diagram of Amine
plant
The Amine Treating Unit primarily removes Hydrogen Sulfide, H2S, contained in streams from oil
refinery process units and sends the concentrated H2S to the Sulfur Recovery Unit (not part of this
EnVision model) to convert it to elemental sulfur. Here the Amine Treating Unit uses DEA as the
solvent.

VII. P&ID Symbols used in Amine treating

 Piping and instrumentation diagrams, or P&IDs, are used to create important
documentation for process industry facilities. The shapes in this legend are
representative of the functional relationship between piping, instrumentation, and system
equipment units.
SYMBOLOGY DESCRIPTION FUNCTION/PURPOSE

Reaction Vessel Any vessel used to contain the reactants taking

part in a reaction
 a mechanical device using suction or pressure
to raise or move liquids, compress gases, or
Pump force air into inflatable objects

a valve used to control fluid flow by varying the

Control Valve size of the flow passage as directed by a
signal from a controller.

Condenser container for condensing vapor.

typically used to provide heat to the

bottom of industrial distillation
Reboiler columns
 Behind control
a process is happening behind

VIII. REFERENCES

https://www.edrawsoft.com/what-is-piping-instrumentation-diagram.html
https://www.sulfurrecovery.com/amine-the-process/#:~:text=Amine%20treating%20is
%20a%20type,corrosion%20and%20meet%20environmental%20regulations.

https://krohne.com/en/industries/oil-gas-industry/refining-oil-gas-industry/amine-
treatment-in-the-oil-and-gas-industry

https://www.carverpump.com/amine-scrubbing-system-overview/..

https://www.safeopedia.com/definition/581/amine-gas-treating

https://www.vysusgroup.com/articles/common-amine-system-corrosion-issues-and-how-
to-solve-them

https://gazsurf.com/en/gas-processing/equipment/modular-units/item/amine-tratment

https://transtextreating.com/equipments/amine-plants/

https://smcheah.weebly.com/atu---process-description.html