Natural Gas Dehydration for Storage

Applications
TECHNOLOGY SELECTION & OPTIMSATION

by
R.Brannock, P. Van den Bossche
LNG Storage & W.H.Isalski,
Chemical Gas Storage
Liquefaction Plants
Gas Processing
Package Plants

Jan. 2011
 Company Structure

GASFIN CIMC
Investment SA Group
Luxembourg Shenzhen, P.R. China

40% 60%

CIMC TGE Gas Investment SA

Luxembourg

TGE Gas Engineering GmbH

Bonn, Germany

2
Sep. 2010
 CIMC Group Companies

CIMC China International Marine Containers (Group)

 Founded 1980 in Shenzhen. Listed in Shenzhen Stock
Exchange since 1994.
 Main shareholders: COSCO, China Merchants Holdings.
 Over 100 subsidiaries.
 More than 47,000 employees worldwide.

Products and Services 2008 Financial Data (in Euro)

 Containers including dry van, reefer, tank Annual Sales 4.824 billion
and special containers. Total Profit 0.196 billion
 Vehicles and road transportation equipments. Net Profit 0.143 billion
 Chemical, beverages and food equipments
Currency Conversion: 1 Euro = 9.81 RMB
including tanks, reactors and machineries.
 Marine and offshore fabrication.
 Airport equipment including passenger
boarding bridges, automatic air cargo
handling systems and automatic parking
systems. 3
Sep. 2010

Yantai Raffles Shipyard (51%)
 Offshore and marine construction
specialist.
 Main office in Singapore.
Burg Industries (80% )
 Semi-trailers, truck bodies and road
tankers.
 Process and storage tanks.
 Main office in Pijnacker, The Netherlands.
Sep. 2010
CIMC Group Companies
CIMC Enric / CIMC Sanctum (100%)
 Storage, transportation and dispensing
products for cryogenic liquids and
compressed gases.
 Process equipments such as vaporizers,
compressors, vessels, columns, reactors.
 Main office in Shenzhen, P.R. China.
4
 GASFIN and Associated Companies
TGE Marine Gas Engineering
 Design and Supply of cargo handling
systems and cargo tanks for gas carriers
and offshore units for LNF, LEG, LPG and
CO2.
 Ship Designs for all kinds of gas carriers.
 Floating storage and production barges.
 More than 25 years of experience and
more than 100 gas carrier contracts.
 Main office in Bonn, Germany.
Sep. 2010
Air LNG
 Conception and Development of specific
LNG solution alternatives for transpor-
tation systems on air, ground and water.
 Creates project proposals of conclusive
ecological LNG service capacity.
 Main office in Bonn, Germany.
5
 Important Business Milestones

6
Sep. 2010
 Office Locations
Bonn Shanghai

Manchester Manchester Taipei

Bonn
Brussels
Ljublijana
Lisbon
Teheran Shanghai
Cairo
New Delhi
Brussels Taipei

New Delhi
Head / Main Office
Branch Office
Representation

7
Sep. 2010
 Man Power
TGE employs more than 320 engineers and specialists worldwide of more
than 20 different nationalities.
Project
QHSE /
Engineering Process /
Document
8% HSE Design
Control
Project 6% 18%
Control Storage
8% Tanks
5%

Equipment /
Project / Package & Valves
Construction 8%
Management
18% Electrical &
Procurement / Instrumentation
Expediting Civil Piping & Structural 14%
5% 1% 9%

8
Sep. 2010
 TGE Business Areas

LPG & Petrochemical Gas Terminals

LNG Import Terminals
LNG Export terminals including Liquefaction
Gas Processing
Packages Plants ....Glycol Dehydration Units

9
Nov. 2009
 TGE Gas Engineering References
Natural Gas Dehydration
Gas Dehydration Unit, Libya

• Location: Libya
• Owner: Wintershall, Libya
• Completion: 2004
• Total capacity: 45,000 Nm3/h

10
14/04/2011
 TGE Gas Engineering References
Natural Gas Dehydration
Dew point Control Unit, Turkmenistan

• Location: Korpedje, Turkmenistan • Total capacity: 4 x 138,000 Nm3/h

• Owner: Turkmenneft
• Completion: 2004

11
14/04/2011
 TGE Gas Engineering References
Natural Gas Dehydration
Glycol Regeneration Unit, Turkey
• Location: Turkey
• Owner: TPAO
• Completion: 2004

• Total capacity: 625,825 Nm3/h

12
14/04/2011
 TGE Gas Engineering References
Natural Gas Dehydration
Dehydration, Desulfurization and Regeneration Units, France

• Location: UGS – Beynes - France

• Owner: Storengy - France
• Completion: 2009 - December

•2 Dehydration units of 110,000 Nm³/h, 54 barg

•2 Dehydration units of 200,000 Nm³/h, 94 barg
•2 Desulfurization units of 135,000 Nm³/h, 94 barg
•3 Glycol Regeneration units

13
14/04/2011
 TGE Gas Engineering References
Natural Gas Dehydration
Dehydration, Desulfurization and Regeneration Units, France
• Location: UGS – St.Clair - France
• Owner: Storengy - France
• Completion: 2012

•Desulfurization unit - 323 000 Nm³/h

•Dehydration unit - 323,000 Nm³/h @ 98 bara
•2 Glycol Regeneration units
•Glycol Intermediate Storage

14
14/04/2011
 TGE Gas Engineering References
Natural Gas Dehydration
Dehydration and Glycol Regeneration Units, France

• Location: UGS – St.Illiers - France

• Owner: Storengy - France
• Completion: Due 2012

• Dehydration Tower
• Capacity 300 000 Nm³/h
•3 Glycol Regeneration units
•Glycol Intermediate Storage
• Upgrade of the existing
control and safety systems

15
Nov. 2009
 Natural Gas Dehydration

 Natural Gas Dehydration

 Dehydration Technologies
 Permeation
 Vortex Units
 Adsorption
 Absorption
 Comparison of Technologies
 Qualitative
 Economic
 Environmental

16
Jan. 2011
 Natural Gas Dehydration

 Dehydration = Removal of water

Why....

 Prevent liquid dropout in downstream systems

 Prevent hydrate formation
 Prevent freezing
 Achieve pipeline specifications

17
Nov. 2009
 Basic Process Options

 Absorption of water in to another liquid

 Adsorption of water on to a solid catalyst of adsorbent
 Permeation through a membrane where water passes
preferentially
 Ranque-Hilsch Effect in a vortex tube

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Nov. 2009
 Aims of Dehydration

Achieve water removal requirement whilst minimising:

 Economic cost
 Capital cost
 Operational cost
 Energy usage
 System pressure loss
 Medium replacement
 Environmental impact
 Safety Risk

Is compromise necessary?

19
Nov. 2009
 Dehydration Gas Quality

 Pipelines
 UK Specification ~50mg/Nm3
 Europe ~60-70mg/Nm3
 Specific Operators 20 mg/Nm3
 Low Temperature Processes
 LPG Recovery
 LNG Liquefaction Plants
 Water dewpoint dependent on process
 Between 0.1 to 1 ppm water for very cold processes.
This paper concentrates on technologies for pipeline
specific applications.

20
Nov. 2009
 Permeation

 Membranes
 Bulk separation of impurities
 Hollow fibre, Spiral wound sheet, Plate type
 Components water, hydrogen, carbon dioxide permeate
quicker than heavier molecular hydrocarbon compounds
 Dewpoints greater than -50°C
 Large pressure drop required
 Sales gas lost to permeate
 Degradation of membrane with heavy
HCs/Aromatics

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Nov. 2009
 Permeation

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Nov. 2009
 Vortex Units

 Ranque-Hilsch effect – known >50 years

 Centrifugal force spins gas creating high temperature,
removal of slipstream of hot gas, means some gas has to
leave colder
 Effect can cause: condensation and separation
 TGE apply Vortisep (TM) on several units
 Small footprint, polishing unit for removal of small
quantities
 High pressure drop required – applicable when “free”
energy available

23
Nov. 2009
 Vortex Tubes

24
Nov. 2009
 Vortex Tubes

TGE Vortisep Unit - Germany

25
Nov. 2009
 Adsorption

 Adsorption of impurities onto solid beds

 Typically silica gel or molecular sieve
 Removal to very low levels possible
 Dewpoints <-100°C
 PPM levels
 Multi-bed systems
 One or more beds online
 One of more beds being regenerated
 Regeneration gas often recycled

26
Nov. 2009
 Adsorption

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Nov. 2009
 Adsorption

28
Nov. 2009
 Absorption

 Glycols
 MEG, DEG, TEG, TREG
 Methanol

 TEG is usual preferred option

 Wide range of applicability
 Low volatility = low losses

29
Nov. 2009
 Absorption

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Nov. 2009
 Range of Glycol Regeneration Processes

 Conventional Reboiler
 Coldfinger
 Vacuum Operation
 Stripping Gas
 Enhanced TEG Units - DRIZO

31
Nov. 2009
 TEG Regeneration Methods

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Nov. 2009
 Typical TGE Process

 Standard reboiler design

 With Stripping gas capability
 Energy integration using vent gas combustion
enables:
 Heat utilisation in reboiler
 Combustion of aromatics
 No hydrocarbon vent streams
 Modular Design

33
Nov. 2009
 TEG Dehydration Process

Dehydration Facility – UGS Turkey

34
Nov. 2009
 Comparison of Dehydration Technologies

 Storage in depleted wells, salt caverns

 Responsive to market demands
 Good turn down capability
 Operation at range of pressures
 Low operating costs – including loss of product

Vortex & Membrane not suitable

Absorption and Adsorption suitable

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Nov. 2009
 Qualitative Comparison

 Feed Gas Flowrate 150 – 1900 MMSCFD of natural gas,

at 5 – 25oC.
 Operating Pressures 45 – 85 barg for sales gas delivery.
 Dry Gas outlet water content -10oC dewpoint at 75 barg.
 The gas is assumed as 50% saturated at 130 barg & 35oC
because it emanates from a cavern which is partially dry.

36
Nov. 2009
 Qualitative Comparison

Unit numbers Glycol Units Silica Gel Units

3 X Absorbers
Trains 2 X 50% trains in parallel
3 X Regeneration Units

HP vessels 3, excluding demister/slug 12, excluding demister/slug

catcher at inlet catcher at inlet

Ancillary 6 10
Equipment

Plot Area Approx. 40m X 30m Approx. 70m X 25m

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Nov. 2009
 Economic and Environmental Comparison
Parameter Glycol Units Silica Gel Units
Power ~ 140 kW ~100kW

Fuel Gas ~ 150 Sm3/h natural gas ~ 270 Sm3/h natural gas
Small, but continuous Glycol Silica gel replacement every 3 years for
Chemicals Usage Losses in product gas. whole adsorber contents.
None Considerable condensate to dispose of.
Emissions Typically 300 – 500 kg/h

Low-Medium Medium-High, because of the fuel gas

Operating Cost usage. Other costs not large.

Capital Costs Unit cost 1.0 Unit cost 1.27

Can turn down to 10% per train Can turn down to very low values by
Flexibility altering timer sequence

Speed of Start-up 30 minutes 10 – 20 minutes

Pressure drop <0.3 bar <0.5 bar

38
Nov. 2009
 Summary

 Silica gel and TEG units are main technologies for

dehydration of natural gas in storage industry
 TEG Units
 Lower CAPEX and OPEX
 Lower emissions
 Smaller footprint
 Simple Operation and integration
 Modular for simple expansion

39
Nov. 2009
 Acknowledgements

 GASTECH Organisation

 All at TGE Gas Engineering

 Harry Isalski

40
Nov. 2009
Creating the future with engineering