Case Studies in Chemical and Environmental Engineering 7 (2023) 100323

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Case Report

Modelling and optimization for an operating giant gas plant in Egypt

Mohamed G. Shebl a, Abdulaziz M. Abdulaziz a, Mai K. Fouad b, Nessren M. Farrag c, *
a
Cairo University, Faculty of Engineering, Mining, Petroleum, and Metallurgical Engineering Department, Egypt
b
Cairo University, Faculty of Engineering, Chemical Engineering Department, Egypt
c
The British University in Egypt, Faculty of Engineering, Chemical Engineering Department, Egypt

A R T I C L E I N F O A B S T R A C T

Keywords: An Egyptian gas-producing plant located in the north of Egypt on the coast of the Mediterranean Sea near Port
Gas plant Said city is designed mainly to receive and treat natural gas produced from offshore wells. The plant designed
Packed column capacity is around 2800 million standard cubic feet per day (MMSCFD), which gives it a highly appreciated
Tray column
strategic importance. The primary plant process is removing H2S associated with the produced gas using amine
ASPEN HYSYS
solutions. The plant contains seven units called gas trains, which use packed columns for the removal. An
Egypt
additional acid gas removal unit was involved in the early production facility, which uses trays column. This
study presented a comprehensive comparison study for the columns, packed versus trays, at different operating
conditions, including gas flow rate, gas temperature, lean amine concentration, lean amine flow rate, and lean
amine temperature. Two models simulating these systems were built using ASPEN HYSYS V12.1 simulation
software. The reliability of the two models was verified by comparing the results with plant actual data. The
results showed similar behavior trends with changes in operating conditions to optimize the production capacity.
For the early production facility unit, the gas to contactor temperatures has been optimized at 29.5 ◦ C, lean
amine temperature at 52 ◦ C with 44.5% concentration. The lean amine temperature for the gas train unit has
been optimized at 41.5 ◦ C with a concentration of 36%. Both units were compared under the same operating
conditions to determine the economically practical unit.

1. Introduction minutes if smelled at high concentrations of more than 1000 parts per
million (ppm) [6]. Its smell is like the smell of rotten eggs; however, it is
Natural gas (NG) is a clean, non-renewable, and environment- called the silent killer as it can disable the smell sense after a period of
friendly energy source with lower emissions than oil and coal [1]. exposure. Many regulations were set to deal with exposure to low
Natural gas is composed of hydrocarbons, mainly methane, with airborne concentrations of H2S. For example, in the United Kingdom
non-hydrocarbon contaminants like hydrogen sulfide, carbon dioxide, (UK), the occupational exposure limit (OEL) is an 8-h time-weighted
water vapor, nitrogen … etc., which must be removed [2]. Now, the average for five ppm of H2S and ten ppm for the short-term exposure
conflict worldwide is for power, so NG has become a critical energy limit (STEL) (15 minutes) [7]. Carbon dioxide is the main cause of the
source, especially in power generation plants, so many investments are greenhouse effect [8]. It is corrosive and reduces the heating value of the
routed towards its search and production. NG is the main source of gas when burnt with it. Natural gas containing large amounts of H2S and
petrochemical industry feedstock components, which are heavier hy­ other sulfur compounds (above 5.7 mg H2S) is called sour gas. Gas
drocarbon components than methane and are called natural gas liquids sweetening process removes acid gases, and the resulting treated gas is
(NGLs) [3]. Liquified natural gas (LNG) consumption had reached 360 called sweet gas [9]. Sweet gas has a four-ppm maximum of H2S and 2
million tons by 2020 and is expected to reach 700 million tons by 2040 mol% of CO2. For sour gas treatment, particular infrastructure and
[4]. equipment designs are needed. Water vapors may form gas hydrates
According to the number of recoverable hydrocarbons contained, with sudden temperature drop due to throttling which may cause
natural gas is classified as lean or rich [5]. The most critical impurities blockage through pipelines, also requiring further operations [10].
are acid gases, H2S, CO2 and water vapors. Hydrogen sulfide is very Natural gas required for the market has agreed on specifications,
toxic, corrosive, and flammable and can cause sudden death within known as pipeline-quality dry gas specifications [4,10] and are shown in

* Corresponding author. El Sherouk City, Cairo, Suez Desert Road, 11837, Egypt.
E-mail address: [email protected] (N.M. Farrag).

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cscee.2023.100323
Received 23 January 2023; Received in revised form 14 February 2023; Accepted 22 February 2023
Available online 5 March 2023
2666-0164/© 2023 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Ltd. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-
nc-nd/4.0/).
M.G. Shebl et al. Case Studies in Chemical and Environmental Engineering 7 (2023) 100323

Table (1) solutions and blends are available with different properties. They are
Typical specification for natural gas required by the market [10]. divided into primary, secondary, and tertiary, and the most common
Characteristics Specification types are Monoethanolamine (MEA), Diethanolamine (DEA), and
Methyldiethanolamine (MDEA) [21]. Tertiary amines, especially MDEA,
Water content 4–7 lbm H2 O/MMscf of gas
Hydrogen sulfide content Four ppmv are preferred these days because of their thermal stability, lower
Gross heating value 950–1200 Btu/SCF regeneration energy, lower vapor losses, and selectivity for H2S [22].
Hydrocarbon dew point 14–40 ◦ F at a specified pressure Many structural designs for acid gas removal units using chemical
Mercaptans content 0.25–1.0 grain/100 SCF solutions are available. Each design has its own energy consumption,
Total sulfur content 0.5–20 grains/100 SCF
Carbon dioxide content 3 mol% – 4 mol%
optimum operating conditions and efficiency in a specified case. A
Oxygen content 0.01 mol% (max) typical conventional gas sweetening unit configuration using amine
Nitrogen content (often not specified) Four moles% – 5 mol% solutions is shown in fig. (1). The unit contains mainly an absorption
Total inert content (often not specified) Three moles% – 5 mol% tower, which operates at high pressure and low temperature, and a
Sand, dust, gums, and free liquid Commercially free
regeneration tower, which operates at high temperature and low pres­
Typical delivery temperature 120 ◦ F
Typical delivery pressure 714.7 psi sure [23].
Many authors also have studied various gas-sweetening existing
plants from different areas and operating conditions to improve their
Table (1), which differ from those produced from the wells [11,12]. operating strategies. Abdulrahman et al. [24] studied the Khurmala field
Gas processing in gas plants includes purification, removal of asso­ in Iraq to determine the optimum amine solution for the plant using
ciated impurities, further separation, and liquefaction for transportation various types of amine solutions and blends at different concentrations
[13,14]. Many processes are used for acid gas removal, including and circulation rates. The results showed that increasing the flow rate
chemical absorption, adsorption, separation with membrane, chemical improves the absorption for all amine types but with higher operating
conversion, and condensation [15]. For carbon dioxide (CO2) and costs. Since energy requirements constitute most of the operational cost,
hydrogen sulfide (H2S), chemical solvent absorption, alkaline solutions, the focus is on energy-effective operations and efficiency. The new term
and physical solvent absorption are the most suitable removal tech­ “exergy” is used to describe effective energy usage and determine lo­
niques for high-flow rate streams [16]. The physical absorption process cations of energy losses using thermodynamics first and second laws
is preferred for higher acid gas partial pressures, while chemical ab­ [25]. Al-Lagtah et al. [26] used ASPEN HYSYS V.7.3. To study the
sorption is preferred for lower partial pressures due to the limitations of Lekhwair gas plant in Oman that aims to save energy using conventional
chemical solutions loading [13]. In physical absorption, the mass and modified split-loop configurations, optimize lean amine tempera­
transfer occurs between acid gases and the solution by physical contact. ture, concentration, and circulation rate, and reduce flare gases to
In contrast, chemical absorption includes chemical reactions and phys­ reduce operating costs. They found that increasing the lean amine cir­
ical contact, which result in higher mass transfer rates [17]. Selection of culation rate reduces acid gas concentrations in treated gas stream and
the optimum process for gas sweetening depends on many factors, loading in rich amine.
including impurities type and concentration, required separation, the This research studied and investigated an onshore plant that was
flow rate and operating conditions of natural gas and economic con­ designed to receive the sour feed gas from a world-class supergiant gas
siderations [14]. Many authors, through literature, evaluated the discovery from deep water of Egypt offshore Mediterranean through
different acid gas removal units on an economic scale [18]. The most sixteen offshore wells drilled sequentially. This plant is located north of
common chemical absorption process uses alkanol amine solutions [19], Egypt on the Mediterranean Sea Coast near Port Said city. It is consid­
in which an exothermic reversible reaction occurs between the solution ered the first sour gas-producing plant in Egypt designed to handle large
and the acidic components to form weakly bonded intermediate com­ concentrations of H2S. Feed gas composition can be found in Appendix
pounds at high pressure and low temperature in addition to mass A. Acid gas removal units of that plant are designed to use chemical
transfer [20]. The reaction is then reversed at high temperature and low absorption using methyl di-ethanolamine (MDEA) to be selective for H2S
pressure to release the absorbed acidic components for solvent regen­ over CO2. Gas treatment units include many pieces of equipment to
eration [15]. This process leads to a reduction of H2S and CO2 contents succeed in the operation, the most critical part of which is the absorption
and an increase in CH4 content in the treated gas stream. Many amine tower. Proper design for the column internals can improve the overall

Fig. (1). Typical process flow diagram of gas sweetening unit.

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M.G. Shebl et al. Case Studies in Chemical and Environmental Engineering 7 (2023) 100323

process and the operating cost. There are many reaction towers, 2.1.1. Process description and configuration
including packed, trayed, and others. The main columns included in the Fig. (2a) presents a simulated process flow diagram for AGRU unit in
study are; the valve tray column, provided for the early production fa­ the EPF, which is built using ASPEN HYSYS software. The acid gas
cility (EPF), and the metallic packed column, provided for the plant life. removal unit comprises an absorption process, regeneration process and
The behavior of both columns was elaborated, modelled, and designed lean amine circulation.
under different operating conditions to select the optimum operating In the absorption process, the sour feed gas from the slug catcher
conditions. Process optimization leads to achieving economically enters the unit through the inlet gas scrubber, then exits from the top to
effective operations. the inlet gas heater to heat it to 25 ◦ C. The hot gas enters the acid gas
contactor, a trays column, where the reaction occurs. The gas enters the
2. Methodology contactor from the bottom below the trays to meet the lean amine so­
lution entering from the top. After that, the treated gas exits from the top
The plant comprises three phases: phase-1, phase-2, and phase-3. of the contactor to the amine contactor overhead scrubber to separate
Phase 1 was designed for the start of the project with an overall ca­ any suspended droplets of amine in the treated gas stream. Finally, sweet
pacity of 1400 MMSCFD of produced gas with a pressure of 84 bars. It gas exits the top of the overhead scrubber with the required specifica­
comprises four repeated gas trains (acid gas removal units), two liquid tions of H2S and CO2.
trains (condensate stabilization units), two sulfur recovery units, and In the regeneration process, the rich amine collected from the bottom
one mono-ethylene glycol (MEG) recovery unit. The production was of the amine contactor and the amine contactor overhead scrubber is
raised to about 2800 MMSCFD after phase 2 with a pressure of around routed to the rich amine flash drum to separate acid gases from the
84 bars. Phase 2 comprises three gas trains, two sulfur recovery units, liquid phase. The rich amine then goes to the rich amine particulate
and one liquid train unit. Phase 3 is designed for the later stage of the filter to remove suspended solids before entering the lean/rich amine
project after the pressure of the wells falls to approximately 24 bars. It heat exchanger to preheat the rich amine from 27 ◦ C to 99 ◦ C before
includes mainly a compressor station to overcome the depletion in entering the amine regenerator. A surge drum is associated with the
reservoir pressure, and a high water cut MEG recovery unit to treat high regenerator from the bottom to collect clear lean amine after regener­
water amounts expected to be produced during the late stages of the ation. The hot amine moves downward through the trays meeting the
project life. In brief, the plant consists of slug catcher facilities, gas hot steam moving up, and the lean amine is collected before entering the
treatment units, liquid treatment units, gas dehydration units, sulfur re-boiler. The vapors generated from the re-boiler, mostly steam, are
recovery units, utilities, and early production facilities. routed to the regenerator again and arise through the chimney tray. The
mist meets the rich amine counter currently to strip the acid gas con­
tained. The acid gas and the stripping stream exit from the regenerator
2.1. Gas treatment unit of EPF top to the amine regenerator reflux condenser to cool it to 49 ◦ C. Acid
gases and condensed reflux water enter the amine regenerator reflux
The early production facility (EPF) was designed for the early stages accumulator that separates acid gases from reflux water. Acid gases are
of the plant operations with a sales nominal gas capacity of 350 routed to the thiopaq unit, and reflux water is pumped again to the
MMSCFD. It was designed to handle production before the construction regenerator top.
of the remaining sections of the plant. The unit is composed of many In the lean amine circulation, a lean amine booster pump boosts lean
sections; gas section, Liquid section, H2S removal section, and utility amine collected from the regenerator in the surge drum to 10 bars to the
section. The gas section, also called the acid gas removal unit (AGRU), is lean/rich amine heat exchanger, to be cooled to 60 ◦ C. The lean amine
designed to handle a sour gas stream with a 400-ppm concentration of then enters the lean amine cooler, a fanned air cooler, to cool the stream
H2S to produce sweet gas with less than 4 ppmv of H2S. The liquid to about 49 ◦ C. A large circulation pump routes the lean amine to the top
section includes condensate stabilization and sour water stripping units. of the contactor with high pressure of around 97 bar. Due to the
The H2S removal section, also called thiopaq oil and gas (TOG), is used continuous operations, amine losses occur due to thermal degradation
to produce a safe disposable sulfur cake from the separated H2S in the and amine carryover in treated gas, so makeup is required for amine to
gas section. The utility section or the balance of the plant (BOP) includes cover these losses.
the required utilities for the different operations, such as the hot oil
system for heating, instrument air production system for process control,
nitrogen producing package, and the cooling system using water.

Fig. (2a). Simulated Process Flow Diagram of AGR unit.

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M.G. Shebl et al. Case Studies in Chemical and Environmental Engineering 7 (2023) 100323

2.1.2. Equipment description amine passing through the tube side. Due to heating, the separation of
Each section of the gas treatment unit contains a lot of equipment acid gases contained with some steam occurs, and the two phases enter
designed for special tasks. A detailed description of this equipment is the regenerator again. The vapor phase passes via the Chimney tray,
presented. which provides even gas flow distribution through the trays to the top
[28].
2.1.2.1. Inlet gas scrubber. A vertical separator separates liquid hydro­
carbon and gas phases of the inlet gas stream by sudden momentum 2.1.2.9. Amine regenerator reflux condenser. It is an air-cooling heat
change. It contains a whirly scrub-v (ws-v) and liquid vortex breaker. exchanger with two fixed-speed fans to cool the acid gas leaving the
Sour gas enters the separator via the whirly scrub-v (ws-v) inlet device, regenerator to condense more stripping steam.
which reduces the momentum of the gas by mild retardation of its ve­
locity. Separation occurs in two stages. 2.1.2.10. Amine regenerator reflux accumulator. It is a vessel that col­
lects water and acid gas condensate and allows vapor to leave from the
• primary separation occurs as the gas enters through a tangential top to the thiopaq unit. It contains a bucket for skimming hydrocarbons
nozzle, creating centrifugal force. This forces the heavier liquid to prevent foaming.
droplets to the vessel walls and then moves down to the stilled
chamber at the bottom of the vessel. 2.1.2.11. Amine regenerator reflux pump. Two 100% capacity centrifu­
• Secondary separation occurs as the spinning gas enters the vortex gal pumps return the collected water in the accumulator as reflux to the
tube. The gas spinning speed increases, forcing more entrained liquid regeneration process.
droplets to the tube wall. These liquid droplets move towards the gas
outlet. A small gap is presented in the vortex tube for the liquid to get 2.1.2.12. Lean amine booster pump. A centrifugal pump delivers the
through with a 10% side stream of gas to the primary separation lean amine from the Surge Drum below the regenerator to the lean
section again. amine system downstream. It provides the initial pumping for lean
amine with a pressure of around 6.5 bars. There are two redundant
2.1.2.2. Inlet gas heater. It is a shell and tube heat exchanger which uses pumps with 100% capacity in the field. One in operation and the other in
a utility stream of hot oil (Therminol-66) to heat the gas to around 25 ◦ C. standby mode for emergencies.
Feed sour gas enters through the tube side while hot oil penetrates
through the shell side. 2.1.2.13. Lean amine cooler. It is an air-cooling heat exchanger with
two fixed-speed fans to decrease amine temperature to an acceptable
2.1.2.3. Amine contactor. This is the leading piece of equipment limit of around 49 ◦ C. The temperature is controlled using fans and
composed of ten trays of floating valves. The gas enters from the bottom louvres. The Louvres automatically open and close according to the
through the chimney tray passing through the trays, where H2S and CO2 required temperature.
are removed by lean MDEA solution entering through a distribution
header at the top. The treated gas passes through the mist eliminator at 2.1.3. Gas treatment model verification
the top to the amine contactor overhead scrubber. The rich MDEA As shown in fig. (2a), the process flow diagram of the AGRU of EPF is
collected at the bottom is routed to the rich amine flash drum. built using ASPEN HYSYS V12.1. This model uses the amine property
package, which uses the Kent-Eisenberg model for mass transfer calcu­
2.1.2.4. Amine contactor overhead scrubber. It has the same design as the lations [21]. A complete study of the unit behavior with changing
inlet scrubber and is used to separate suspended amines from the treated operating conditions was performed after model verification with actual
gas stream. The collected amine at the bottom is routed to the rich amine field data. The variable operating conditions used for the judgement of
flash drum through a level control valve. model liability were sour feed gas flow rate and composition, the tem­
perature of sour gas after the inlet gas heater, the pressure of rich amine
2.1.2.5. Rich amine flash drum. It is a horizontal 3-phase separator that flash drum, lean amine loading, lean amine concentration, lean amine
separates dissolved gases from rich amine solution. The flash drum is flow rate, lean amine temperature after cooler, and lean amine pressure.
equipped with an internal bucket to collect free-phase hydrocarbons, The results are sweet gas H2S and CO2 Compositions, sweet gas
and control valves maintain the pressure at 7 bars. The level of rich temperature, the temperature of rich amine from the amine contactor,
amine is controlled using a level control valve before entering the and the lean amine leaving the lean/rich amine heat exchanger.
regenerator. Table (2) compares heat and material balance data obtained from the
HYSYS-built model and that of the supplier with actual field data.
2.1.2.6. Lean/rich amine heat exchanger. It is a plate and frame heat Table (2) shows the minimal error between the model built with
exchanger used to preheat the rich amine from the flash drum before HYSYS software and vendor-supplied and actual field data. Due to this
entering the regenerator utilizing the heat from the lean amine leaving minor error, the built model is considered reliable and was used to study
the bottom of the regenerator. the different operating conditions to find the optimum and avoid energy
losses.
2.1.2.7. Amine regenerator. It is a vertical column with 22 floating valve
tray internals. The rich amine enters from the top through the distri­
2.2. Gas train unit
bution header. The valve trays provide the residence time and mecha­
nism required for the reaction between the rich amine and stripping gas
Gas trains are the central core of the plant and involve seven
stream generated at the re-boiler bottom. The tower’s high temperature
repeated trains with the same design using packing towers. One train is
and low pressure provide conditions to reverse the chemical reaction
considered as an example to show the behavior of packed columns. A
and liberate entrained acid gases from the top to the reflux accumulator.
comparison between packing and tray columns will be made in later
sections.
2.1.2.8. Amine re-boiler. Amine re-boiler is believed to be the highest
energy consumer in the unit. It uses approximately half of the total 2.2.1. Process description and configuration
energy consumption [27]. It is a shell and tube heat exchanger which Fig. (2b)shows a gas train unit simulated process flow diagram built
uses hot oil (therminol-66) passing through the shell side to heat the rich with ASPEN HYSYS. The process sequence for the gas train is the same as

4
M.G. Shebl et al. Case Studies in Chemical and Environmental Engineering 7 (2023) 100323

Table (2) amine regenerator.

Verification of the HYSYS model with vendor-supplied data and with actual field In the lean amine circulation, the lean amine collected at the bottom
data. of the regenerator is approximately 130 ◦ C and leaves to lean/rich amine
Property Vendor-supplied data Actual field data heat exchanger, where it is cooled to 63 ◦ C before entering the lean
Heat& HYSYS Actual HYSYS
amine booster pump. Lean amine is pumped to the absorber top section
material Model amounts Model at around 110 bars.
balance

Feed Gas Flowrate 351.469 353 285.244 285 2.2.2. Equipment description
(MMSCFD)
Gas to Contactor 25 25 23.461 23 2.2.2.1. Sour gas filter coalescer. The feed gas enters the unit through a
Temperature (oC)
filter coalescer that comprises two sections.
Gas to Contactor 81.3 81.5 79.217 79.3
pressure (Bar)
Lean Amine 50 50 43.12 43.12 • The upper section is filled with filtration elements where liquid hy­
Concentration (Wt. drocarbons are removed to avoid foaming the system. The upper
%) section elements are designed to remove 99.98% of 0.1μm or greater
Lean Amine Flowrate 81.7268 82.33 74.148 74.89
(m3/hr.)
droplets of liquid hydrocarbons.
Lean Amine to 51 50.17 51.776 51 • The lower section is designed to collect liquid hydrocarbons sepa­
contactor rated through the inlet of the coalescer.
Temperature (oC)
Lean Amine to 82.5 82.5 97 97
contactor Pressure
2.2.2.2. Sour gas/sweet gas heat exchanger. It is a shell and tube heat
(Bar) exchanger. Sour feed gas enters the shell side and treated gas from the
Lean Amine H2S 0.0017 0.001709 0.0015 0.001438 absorber top enters the tube side. It is used for preheating sour gas to
loading (mol/mol) about 30 ◦ C and cooling treated gas to around 35 ◦ C.
Lean Amine CO2 0.0021 0.0004218 N/A 0.0009050
loading (mol/mol)
Lean Amine after Hex. 60 62.54 60.157 60.19 2.2.2.3. Sour gas absorber. It is a packed column which comprises three
Temperature (oC) packing sections and a wash water section at the top. Each packing
Rich Amine Flash 7.25 7.25 7.001 7 section is about 2.75 m long and filled with SULZER I-ring #50 elements.
Drum pressure (Bar)
It hosts the exothermic reaction between gas and lean MDEA. The wash
Booster pump Suction 131 130.5 129.15 129.9
Temperature (oC) water section is pumped with demineralized water to shower the gas
Sweet gas flow rate 350 352.6 286.158 284.6 stream from entrained amine droplets.
(MMSCFD)
H2S Composition in 2.8271 2.655 1.3 1.411
2.2.2.4. Sweet gas knock-out drum. A vertical separator is designed to
the sweet gas (ppm)
CO2 Composition in 0.43205 0.4571 285.244 285 remove carried amines with the treated gas stream. Collected amines are
the sweet gas (mole routed to the rich amine flash drum. Gas leaves through a mist extractor
%) for additional removal of suspended amines before leaving to the
Sweet gas pressure 81.2 81.2 23.461 23 dehydration unit.
(Bar)
Sweet gas 38 34.34 79.217 79.3
Temperature (oC) 2.2.2.5. Rich amine flash drum. It operates as the flash drum of the
Rich Amine 27 24.92 43.12 43.12 AGRU of EPF, except for the additional absorption column at the exit of
Temperature from the flashed gas stream and the internal bucket used for skimming. This
contactor (oC)
column is a small absorber with a small packing section and a slipstream
of lean amine from the lean amine pumps. The treated gas leaving this
that of the gas treatment unit for the EPF. It comprises three sections: small column is used as a fuel gas stream.
absorption, regeneration, and amine circulation. The difference between
the two units is in the equipment design and internals. 2.2.2.6. Lean/rich amine exchanger. It is a plate and frame heat
In the absorption process, feed gas enters the unit from the slug exchanger with rich amine entering the cold side to heat to around 92 ◦ C
catcher through a sour gas filter coalescer, where suspended hydrocar­ using the lean amine stream, leaving the amine regenerator surge drum
bons are separated. Sour gas exits from the top of the coalescer to the and entering the exchanger from the hot side, where it is cooled from
sour/sweet gas heat exchanger to be heated to around 30 ◦ C by heat 129 ◦ C to around 63 ◦ C.
exchange with sweet gas leaving from the top of the absorber. The
heated sour gas then enters the absorber from the bottom to meet the 2.2.2.7. Amine regenerator. It is a trayed column with 24 trays for
lean amine from the top. Treated gas leaves the absorber from the top stripping acid gases from rich amine using stripping gas generated at the
after being washed with demineralized water to reduce amine carry­ regenerator reboiler. These are valve trays with about 93 BARETTI BDH
over. It enters the sour/sweet heat exchanger and is cooled to 35 ◦ C valves per tray. The rich amine enters through the fifth tray from the top,
before entering the knock-out drum to remove the suspended amine. and the amine stream meets stripping gas from the bottom.
In the regeneration process, rich amine from the absorber bottom
and wash water from the absorber top are routed to the rich amine flash 2.2.2.8. Amine regenerator overhead condenser. It is an air cooler with
drum. Due to a sudden reduction in pressure, dissolved gases are flashed two fans; one is a fixed-speed fan, and the other is a variable-speed fan.
and rich amine leaves to lean/rich amine heat exchanger where it is The temperature is regulated around 49 ◦ C by adjustment of the variable
preheated to 92 ◦ C before entering the amine regenerator. Acid gases are speed fan.
stripped from rich amine in the regenerator by stripping gas generated in
the amine regenerator reboiler. Acid gases leave from the top to the 2.2.2.9. Amine regenerator overhead reflux drum. It is a vertical vessel
amine regenerator overhead condenser, cooled to 49 ◦ C before entering designed to collect condensed vapors from the regenerator. It has a
the amine regenerator overhead reflux drum. Acid gases are routed to bucket for oil skimming and a mist eliminator to remove suspended
the sulfur recovery unit, and condensed water is pumped back to the droplets of amine from the H2S stream, leaving the drum top to the

5
M.G. Shebl et al. Case Studies in Chemical and Environmental Engineering 7 (2023) 100323

sulfur recovery unit. Table (3)

Gas train Model verification with actual field data.
2.2.2.10. Amine regenerator reflux pumps. Two redundant pumps; one in Property Real field Data HYSYS Model Data
service and one on standby. They are used to return collected liquids in Sour gas flow rate (MMSCFD) 408 408
the reflux drum to the top of the regenerator. Gas to absorber Temperature (˚C) 18.8 18.8
Feed gas H2S Concentration (ppm) 400 400
2.2.2.11. Amine regenerator re-boiler. It is a shell and tube heat Feed gas CO2 Composition (mol%) 0.0058 0.0058
Lean amine flow rate (kg/hr) 62680 63000
exchanger used to heat amine liquid to around 129 ◦ C from the bottom Lean amine loading H2S (mol/mol) 0.002 0.002052
of the regenerator through the chimney tray to the surge drum using Lean amine concentration (wt.%) 36.1 36.1
low-pressure steam. Amine enters through the shell side while low- Lean amine pressure to absorber (bar) 105 105
pressure steam (LP-steam) penetrates through the tube side. The vapor Treated gas flow rate (MMSCFD) 404 404.6
Treated gas H2S Concentration (ppm) 1.23 1.225
from heating the amine stream goes upward through the regenerator to a
Treated gas CO2 Composition (mol%) 0.7592 0.5649
reflux condenser. Treated gas temperature (˚C) 23.7 22.05
Treated gas pressure (bar) 76.5 76.2
2.2.2.12. Lean amine booster and main pumps. There are two sets of
pumps; booster pumps and lean amine pumps. Booster pumps are two
zation to achieve maximum profit and/or minimum operating cost.
small pumps; one is in service, and one is on standby. They are used to
Process optimization is applied for both models to obtain the optimum
boost the lean amine to around 10 bars. Lean amine pumps are two high
operating conditions. The first step is to build the objective function as in
duty pumps; one is in service, and one is on standby. They pump the lean
Equation (1):
amine to the absorber at high pressure, around 105 bars.
Profit = sales gas cost − operating cost Eqn.(1)
2.2.2.13. Lean amine air cooler. It consists of four fans, two of which are
Where:
fixed speed, and the other two are variable speed. The temperature is
controlled using variable-speed fans and bypass lines on the configura­ Sales gas cost = sales gas flowrate ∗ price of sales gas
tion of the fan.
Operating cost = cost of inlet gas heater duty + cost reboiler duty
2.2.2.14. Additional equipment. The filtration package is provided in the + cost of condenser duty + cost of booster pump power
AGRU of EPF and the gas train unit. It is used for continuous cleaning of
+ cost of lean amine cooler duty + cost of circulation pump power
the lean amine. It consists of a pre-filter, carbon filter, and after-filter. A
slipstream of 15% of lean amine passes through the package for cleaning The second step is to determine adjustable variables, including the
and meets with the total stream on the suction line of the main pumps. operating parameters controlled through operations, and the required
energy. Adjusted variables comprise the inlet gas temperature to the
2.2.3. Gas train model verification absorption tower, lean amine concentration, temperature, and flow rate.
Fig. (2b) shows a gas train model complete process flow diagram The present study accounts for the optimum operating conditions for the
built using ASPEN HYSYS V12.1 for verification. Table (3) shows the current flow rate. The third step involves the determination of the
difference between the model and the actual data collected from the process constraints, if available. The main constraints comprise H2S
field. concentration in the treated gas stream that should fall below 4 ppmv.
From Table (3), the difference between the model and the actual field Natural gas prices in the international market range from 6
data is minimal; thus, the model can effectively simulate the system used $/1000ft3 to 8 $/1000ft3, and therefore the price calculation of natural
in the present study. gas is set to 7 $/1000ft3.

3. Results and discussion 3.1.1. Process optimization for EPF model

After determining the required data for the optimizer to run, the
3.1. Process optimization using ASPEN HYSYS adjusted variables lower and upper limits were set according to oper­
ating practices. The temperature of inlet gas to contactor is set from 25
ASPEN HYSYS software provides a tool capable of process optimi­ ◦
C to 35 ◦ C, while the lean amine temperature lies between 45 ◦ C and 51

Fig. (2b). Simulated process flow diagram for gas train unit.

6
M.G. Shebl et al. Case Studies in Chemical and Environmental Engineering 7 (2023) 100323

◦
C. Lean amine concentration lies between 35% and 55%, while the flow Table (5)
rate ranges from 70 m3/hr to 90 m3/hr based on pump capacity re­ Daily operating cost for gas train unit.
strictions. Table (4) shows a comparison between energy duties for Equipment Duty (Kcal/hr.) Price ($/Kcal) Cost ($/Day)
current operating conditions and optimized operating conditions. = duty*price*24
The costs of energy are captured from the HYSYS software database. Amine re-boiler 5.100E+06 7.950E-06 9.73E+02
Using eqn. (1)and the available data, including operating cost and the Amine condenser 3.082E+05 4.184E-09 3.09E-02
price of natural gas in the international market, the daily profit for the Lean amine cooler − 1.436E+06 4.184E-09 1.44E-01
current operating conditions equals 1,989,870 $/day, while the new Booster pump 1.902E+04 6.611E-05 3.02E+01
Circulation pump 2.218E+05 6.611E-05 3.52E+02
optimized operating conditions increase the daily profit to around
1,990,024 $/day with H2S composition in the treated gas equal to 1.306
ppm and reduce the energy required for each piece of equipment in a
small measure. The increase in profit is just around 150 $/day for the Table (6)
same inlet gas flow rate, which means that the EPF unit is currently Current and optimized operating conditions for EPF unit and gas train unit.
operating almost at the optimum conditions. Operating conditions EPF unit Gas train unit

Current Optimized Current Optimized

3.1.2. Process optimization for gas train model
Gas to contactor temperature, ◦ C 23 29.5 – –
For the gas train case, there are three controllable operating condi­ Lean amine temperature, ◦ C 51 52 30 41.50
tions. These conditions include lean amine concentration that ranges Lean amine concentration, % 43.15 44.49 36 36
from 35% to 55%, lean amine flow rate with lower and upper bounds Lean amine flow rate, m3/hr. 73 70 36000 36000
equal to 69 m3/hr and 95 m3/hr, respectively, and lean amine temper­
ature that expands from 30 ◦ C to 53 ◦ C. Table (5) includes the current
flow rate from 160 MMSCFD leads to a reduction in H2S (ppm)
operating cost before optimization.
composition and an increase in CO2 (mole%) composition in the treated
Using the current operating cost and the daily gas production of
gas. By looking at the rich amine loading it can be concluded that it is
407.7 MMSCFD, the daily profit can be found to be 2,852,134 $/day.
increasing with the increase in the inlet gas flow rate, but the flow rate of
After running the optimizer, new operating conditions are found to
lean amine of 64000 kg/hr. And concentration of 36% have the capa­
be the same, except for the lean amine temperature, which can be
bility to react with more H2S molecules in sour gas but not exceeding
neglected. Table (6) includes old and new operating conditions for both
280MMSCFD.
units.
The behavior of trays and packed columns in H2S and CO2 absorption
3.2.2. Inlet gas temperature
are found to be almost the same with the change in the different oper­
Inlet gas temperature is an essential parameter in the reaction inside
ating conditions.
the contactor because the absorption reactions are temperature affected
[13,19]. Inlet gas temperature describes the feed gas temperature after
3.2. Effect of different operating parameters leaving the inlet gas heater, so it dramatically affects the duty required
from the heater [11]. The reduction of H2S absorption is due to the
3.2.1. Inlet gas flow rate reduction of the overall mass transfer coefficient [29]. It was also proved
For the EPF unit, the inlet gas flow rate changes from 160 MMSCFD, by experiments that higher temperatures mean lower H2S solubility in
the turndown flow rate, to 400 MMSCFD, the maximum allowed rate by an aqueous MDEA solution [30].
the manufacturer. The normal operating flow rate in the plant is around For the EPF unit, fig. (4a) shows the relation between inlet gas
350 MMSCFD. Figure (3a) shows the effect of inlet gas flow rate and H2S temperature and H2S and CO2 absorption. H2S selectivity is better at
composition (ppm) and CO2 composition (mole%) in sweet gas leaving lower inlet gas temperatures.
the unit. As the inlet gas flow rate increases, the resulting H2S (ppm) For the gas train unit, fig. (4b) shows the effect of gas temperature on
composition decreases, and the resulting CO2 (mole%) composition in­ H2S and CO2 concentrations in treated gas. The same explanation as the
creases. From the results, at 160 MMSCFD, the corresponding H2S and trays model because the same reactions occur between MDEA and both
CO2 compositions are 1.4 ppm and 0.3643 mol%, while they equal to H2S and CO2.
1.135 ppm and 0.4684 mol% at 400 MMSCFD.
For the gas train unit, the behavior with the inlet gas flow rate is 3.2.3. Lean amine flow rate
different from the behavior of the trays column due to the difference in The change in lean amine flow rate directly affects the desulfuriza­
the mechanism of contact between liquid and gas phases. The relation tion and CO2 absorption process, and a high lean amine flow rate in­
between inlet gas flow rate and H2S and CO2 compositions in the treated dicates more liquid residence time. The increase in residence time
gas stream is shown in fig. (3b). Below 280 MMSCFD, the increase in increases the time allowed for gas-solvent contact and hence the reac­
tion of both H2S and CO2 with MDEA solvent leading to better absorp­
Table (4) tion [23]. For both units, the lean amine flow rate increase leads to a
Energy consumption and cost for current and optimized conditions. reduction in H2S and CO2 compositions in sweet gas leaving the
contactor.
Equipment For current operating For optimized operating
conditions conditions
3.2.4. Lean amine temperature
Duty (Kcal/ Cost Duty (Kcal/ Cost
hr.) ($/day) hr.) ($/day) The effect of lean amine temperature is similar to inlet gas temper­
ature but appears crucial for controlling the contactor temperature [15].
Inlet gas heater 1.535E+06 5.39E+02 2.545E+06 8.94E+02
Amine re-boiler 3.251E+06 1.14E+03 3.246E+06 1.14E+03
The lower temperature typically favors better H2S absorption and hence
Amine 8.072E+05 8.11E-02 8.923E+05 8.96E-02 higher selectivity. For the EPF unit, the optimum temperature is selected
condenser based on lower cooler duty and a higher lean amine temperature than
Lean amine − 5.687E+05 − 5.71E-02 − 8.444E+05 − 8.48E-02 the inlet gas temperature of 5–10◦ , as recommended through literature
cooler
[31]. So, the optimum temperature for lean amine lies between 30 and
Booster pump 8988 1.43E+01 8669 1.38E+01
Circulation 2.174E+05 3.45E+02 2.087E+05 3.31E+02 40 ◦ C. Condensation might occur at temperatures below 30 ◦ C. Above
pump 45 ◦ C, the rate of increase in H2S composition in treated gas will

7
M.G. Shebl et al. Case Studies in Chemical and Environmental Engineering 7 (2023) 100323

Fig. (3). Effect of inlet gas flow rate on H2S and CO2 concentrations.

Fig. (4). Effect of inlet gas temperature on H2S and CO2 concentrations.

increase. Similarly, for the gas train unit, a lower temperature is better operating conditions was investigated. The process simulation software
for H2S absorption, as in the case of the tray. Take care of operational (ASPEN HYSYS V12.1) has been used to model and simulate the existing
problems occurring at temperatures below 25 ◦ C due to the rapid in­ processes. The software tool provided feasible optimization for the
crease in the MDEA viscosity. existing operating conditions. Energy consumption and costs were
calculated to compare the existing conditions with the optimized con­
3.2.5. Lean amine concentration ditions. The optimized conditions for the early production unit and the
Amine concentration refers to the number of moles of amine in the gas train unit proposed by the model were promising and practical. The
solution with the recommended amine concentration of about 50 wt%. influence of different process parameters was investigated to study the
Increasing the amine concentration increases H2S and CO2 leaving in the single effect of each factor on the process and analysed to show their
treated gas at constant amine loading [15]. It has been proven experi­ effect on both units. The optimum operating conditions to achieve
mentally using different configurations of equipment and through many higher profits were determined and verified using the simulated model.
ranges of partial pressures and amine concentrations that the increase in
MDEA solution concentration leads to a reduction in the solubility of Funding
both H2S and CO2 [30,32,33]. For EPF, the optimum operating lean
amine concentration lies between 40 and 50 wt%. The lower the con­ This research did not receive any specific grant from funding
centration the higher the duty required from the reboiler for regenera­ agencies in the public, commercial, or non-profit sectors.
tion. For gas train unit, the reduction in absorption is reflected on rich
amine loading. The rich amine leaving the absorber has a reduction in Declaration of competing interest
H2S loading, so that less duty is required from the reboiler for
regeneration. The authors declare that they have no known competing financial
interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence
4. Conclusions the work reported in this paper.

The simulation and optimization models conducted in this study Data availability
described and presented a detailed description for existing operating
giant gas plant. The behavior of the gas sweetening units under different No data was used for the research described in the article.

8
M.G. Shebl et al. Case Studies in Chemical and Environmental Engineering 7 (2023) 100323

Appendix A. Table of Feed Gas Composition

Table A.1
Feed gas composition

Component Mole fraction

Water 1.12E-04
CO2 8.50E-03
H2S 4.00E-04
Carbonyl Sulphide 2.97E-07
N2 9.38E-04
Methane 0.9846
Ethane 3.28E-03
Propane 5.35E-04
N-Butane 1.76E-04
I-Butane 5.02E-04
N-Pentane 1.04E-04
I-Pentane 2.30E-04
N-Hexane 1.49E-04
Cyclohexane 8.00E-06
Benzene 2.90E-05
N-Heptane 8.30E-05
Toluene 9.30E-05
N-Octane 6.60E-05
Ethyl Benzene 3.30E-05
O-Xylene 1.20E-05
M-Xylene 2.50E-05
P-Xylene 1.30E-05
N-Nonane 4.10E-05
Methyl Mercaptan 2.95E-06
Ethyl Mercaptan 5.75E-08
Methyl Cyclopentane 9.00E-06
Methyl Cyclohexane 8.00E-06
N-Decane 2.80E-05
N-Undecane 2.00E-05
N-Dodecane 1.10E-05
N-Tridecane 2.00E-06

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