Optimization of Amine Regeneration Process in Natural Gas Sweetening Units

Acid gas removal is a critical step in natural gas processing to meet pipeline sales specifications and prevent corrosion. The chemical absorption of carbon dioxide (CO۲) and hydrogen sulfide (H۲S) using aqueous alkanolamines is the industrial standard. However, the amine regeneration solvent stripper is highly energy-intensive, consuming up to ۷۰% of the utility costs of the entire gas treatment plant. This study presents a systematic modeling, simulation, and parametric optimization of an industrial-scale amine regeneration stripper using a blend of Diethanolamine (DEA) and Methyldiethanolamine (MDEA). The coupled effects of operating pressure (۱.۲ to ۲.۴ bar), lean amine temperature (۳۸oC to ۵۰oC), reboiler temperature (۱۱۰oC to ۱۳۰oC), and amine concentration on the reboiler heat duty and amine degradation rates were thoroughly investigated. A multi-objective Genetic Algorithm (GA) was implemented to determine the Pareto-optimal operating envelope. The optimized configuration demonstrated that operating the stripper at ۱.۸۵ bar with a reboiler temperature of ۱۱۹.۵oC reduced the specific reboiler energy consumption by ۱۵.۴% (from ۳.۸۲ to ۳.۲۳ MJ/kg CO۲ captured) while maintaining the acid gas slip below ۲.۰ ppmv

کلیدواژه ها:

Gas Sweetening ، Amine Regeneration ، Process Optimization ، Reboiler Heat Duty ، Energy Minimization ، Acid Gas Capture