Title: A new method estimates TEG purity versus reconcentrator temperature at different levels of pressure in gas dehydration systems

Authors: Alireza Bahadori; Gholamreza Zahedi; Sohrab Zendehboudi; Ahmad Jamili

Addresses: School of Environment, Science and Engineering, Southern Cross University, P.O. Box 157, Lismore, NSW, 2480, Australia ' Process Systems Engineering Centre (PROSPECT), Faculty of Chemical Engineering, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, 81310 Skudai, Johor, Malaysia ' Department of Chemical Engineering, University of Waterloo, Waterloo, Ontario N2l 3G1, Canada ' Mewbourne School of Petroleum and Geological Engineering, The University of Oklahoma, SEC-1210 Sarkeys Energy Center, 100 E. Boyd St., Norman, OK 73019-1003, USA

Abstract: There are several processes and principles for obtaining high triethylene glycol (TEG) purity in gas dehydration process. All methods are based on the principle of reducing the effective partial pressure of water in the vapour space of the glycol reboiler, and hence obtaining a higher glycol concentration at the same temperature. One of the most common methods for enhancement of the glycol concentration has been by means of pressure reduction in the reboiler. In this article a simple method is developed to estimate TEG purity as a function of reconcentrator (reboiler) temperature and pressure. The results are found to be in excellent agreement with reported data in the literature with average absolute deviation being around 0.05%. The tool developed in this study can be of immense practical value for engineers to have a quick check on TEG purity as a function of reconcentrator (reboiler) temperature and pressure at various conditions without opting for any experimental trials. In particular, engineers would find the approach to be user-friendly with transparent calculations involving no complex expressions. [Received: May 21, 2012; Accepted: December 3, 2012]

Keywords: triethylene glycol; natural gas dehydration; glycol reboilers; predictive tools; TEG purity; reconcentrator temperature; reboiler temperature; pressure levels.

DOI: 10.1504/IJOGCT.2014.057799

International Journal of Oil, Gas and Coal Technology, 2014 Vol.7 No.1, pp.85 - 94

Received: 21 May 2012
Accepted: 03 Dec 2012
Published online: 24 May 2014 *

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