Improved Econaminesm Treatment of Sour Gas: A “One Stop Shop” For Sulphur Removal
Presented at Annual Conference, 13 - 15 September 2017 at Sofitel Chain Bridge Hotel, Budapest by
David Schulte, Steven Van Wagensveld, Curt Graham, Bryant Lynch, Rob Joyner & Nick Amott Fluor Corporation
This paper presents a case study of performance improvements in acid gas removal from very sour well fluids, based on operating data from mega size Improved EconamineSM gas treatment units in the Middle East.
The results demonstrate the robustness of Fluor’s DGA3 based technology in acid gas and organic sulphur removal, especially for ultra-sour fields. These units treat a feed gas with approximately 26 mol% H2S, 10 mol% CO2, COS, and mercaptans at roughly 65 barg. The treated gas is virtually free of H2S, CO2, and COS, and mercaptan levels are consistently below 10 ppm(mol).
Ultra-sour gas treatment has unique design challenges, such as requiring side cooling to minimize circulation through heat of absorption management. Detailed process modeling has led to improvements in the design of DGA based ultra-sour gas treatment facilities. This paper describes the limitations of conventional designs and presents an alternative design with superior temperature control, which results in a significant improvement in both absorber and overall Acid Gas Removal Unit (AGRU) performance.
Ultra-sour gases often must be treated at low pressures due to the major hazards associated with H2S and/or inherently low feed fluid pressure. This paper also presents a design innovation that can mitigate these HSE risks while still achieving 90%+ total mercaptan removal efficiency along with practically complete removal of H2S, CO2, and COS.
Fluor licenses the EconamineSM process to treat sour gas to a guaranteed total sulphur specification. This technology offers advantages over hybrid solvents and two step processes for mercaptan removal.
