Amine gas treating refers to a group of processes that use aqueous solutions of various amines to remove hydrogen sulfide (H₂S) and carbon dioxide (CO₂) from gases. It is a common unit process used in refineries, petrochemical plants, natural gas processing plants and other industries. The process is also known as Acid gas removal and Gas sweetening. The general structure of an amine Amines are organic compounds and a type of functional group that contain nitrogen as the key atom. ... Hydrogen sulfide (hydrogen sulphide in British English), H2S, is a colorless, toxic, flammable gas that is responsible for the foul odor of rotten eggs and flatulence. ... Carbon dioxide is a chemical compound composed of one carbon and two oxygen atoms. ... In manufacturing, a unit process is single component part of the end-to-end manufacturing process that transforms raw materials into finished goods. ... View of Shell Oil Refinery in Martinez, California. ... Petrochemicals are chemical products made from raw materials of petroleum (hydrocarbon) origin. ... A natural gas processing plant Natural gas processing plants are used to purify the raw natural gas extracted from underground gas fields and brought up to the surface by gas wells. ...

Processes within oil refineries or natural gas processing plants that remove hydrogen sulfide and/or mercaptans are commonly referred to as sweetening processes because they results in products which no longer have the sour, foul odors of mercaptans and hydrogen sulfide. In chemistry, thiols (formerly known as mercaptans) are those compounds which contain the thiol group -SH attached to a carbon atom. ...

There are many different amines used in gas treating:

• Monoethanolamine (MEA)
• Diethanolamine (DEA)
• Methyldiethanolamine (MDEA)
• Diisopropylamine (DIPA)
• Diglycolamine (DGA)

The most commonly used amines in industrial plants are the alkanolamines MEA and DEA. Ethanolamine, or 2-Amino ethanol, is a toxic flammable corrosive colorless viscous liquid with an odor similar to ammonia. ... Diethanolamine, often abbreviated as DEA, is an organic chemical compound which is both a secondary amine and a dialcohol. ... MDEA (also MDE), which stands for 3,4-methylenedioxy-N-ethylamphetamine, is a psychedelic hallucinogenic drug and empathogen-entactogen of the phenethylamine family. ... Diisopropylamine a secondary amine with the chemical formula (CH3)2HC-NH-CH(CH3)2. ...

Amines are also used in many oil refineries to remove sour gases from liquid hydrocarbons such as liquified petroleum gas (LPG). Acid gas or Sour gas, also sour acid gas or acid sour gas, is natural gas which contains up to 20% hydrogen sulfide contaminant by weight and the aromatic hydrocarbons benzene, toluene, mixed xylenes and ethylbenzene. ... 45 kg LPG cylinders Spherical Gas Container typically found in Refineries. ...

Description of a typical amine treater

Gases containing H₂S or both H₂S and CO₂ are commonly referred to as sour gases or acid gases in the hydrocarbon processing industries. Acid gas or Sour gas, also sour acid gas or acid sour gas, is natural gas which contains up to 20% hydrogen sulfide contaminant by weight and the aromatic hydrocarbons benzene, toluene, mixed xylenes and ethylbenzene. ... Acid gas or Sour gas, also sour acid gas or acid sour gas, is natural gas which contains up to 20% hydrogen sulfide contaminant by weight and the aromatic hydrocarbons benzene, toluene, mixed xylenes and ethylbenzene. ... Hydrocarbons are refined at oil refineries and processed at chemical plants A hydrocarbon is a chemical compound that consists only of the elements carbon (C) and hydrogen (H). ...

A typical amine gas treating process (as shown in the flow diagram below) includes an absorber unit and a regenerator unit as well as accessory equipment. In the absorber, the downflowing amine solution absorbs H₂S and CO₂ from the upflowing sour gas to produce a sweetened gas stream (i.e., an H₂S-free gas) as a product and an amine solution rich in the absorbed acid gases. The resultant "rich" amine is then routed into the regenerator (a stripper with a reboiler) to produce regenerated or "lean" amine that is recycled for reuse in the absorber. The stripped overhead gas from the regenerator is concentrated H₂S and CO₂. In oil refineries, that stripped gas is mostly H₂S, much of which often comes from a sulfur-removing process called hydrodesulfurization. This H₂S-rich stripped gas stream is then usually routed into a Claus process to convert it into elemental sulfur. In fact, the vast majority of the 64,000,000 metric tons of sulfur produced worldwide in 2005 was byproduct sulfur from refineries and other hydrocarbon processing plants. ^[1][2] In some plants, more than one amine absorber unit may share a common regenerator unit. We dont have an article called Process flow diagram Start this article Search for Process flow diagram in. ... [edit] Reboilers Reboilers are heat exchangers typically attached to a distillation column. ... Hydrodesulfurization is one means of lowering the sulfur content of liquids from oil/coal. ... This article needs to be cleaned up to conform to a higher standard of quality. ... General Name, Symbol, Number sulfur, S, 16 Chemical series nonmetals Group, Period, Block 16, 3, p Appearance lemon yellow Standard atomic weight 32. ...

Process flow diagram of a typical amine treating process used in industrial plants

In the steam reforming process of hydrocarbons to produce gaseous hydrogen for subsequent use in the industrial synthesis of ammonia, amine treating is one of the commonly used processes for removing excess carbon dioxide in the final purification of the gaseous hydrogen. We dont have an article called Process flow diagram Start this article Search for Process flow diagram in. ... Steam reforming, hydrogen reforming or catalytic oxidation, is a method of producing hydrogen from hydrocarbons. ... General Name, Symbol, Number hydrogen, H, 1 Chemical series nonmetals Group, Period, Block 1, 1, s Appearance colorless Atomic mass 1. ... Ammonia is a compound with the formula NH3. ...

See also

• Ammonia production
• Hydrodesulfurization
• Claus process
• Selexol
• Rectisol

Because of its many uses, ammonia is one of the most highly-produced inorganic chemicals. ... Hydrodesulfurization is one means of lowering the sulfur content of liquids from oil/coal. ... This article needs to be cleaned up to conform to a higher standard of quality. ...

External links

• Selecting Amines for Sweetening Units, Polasek, J. (Bryan Research & Engineering) and Bullin, J.A. (Texas A&M University), Gas Processors Association Regional Meeting, Sept. 1994.

• Natural Gas Supply Association Scroll down to Sulfur and Carbon Dioxide Removal

• Sweetening LPG's with Amines, Holmes, J.W. (Bryan Research & Engineering), Spears, M.L. (Bryan Research & Engineering), and Bullin, J.A. (Texas A&M University), Chemical Engineering Progress, May 1984

• Description of the classic book on gas treating by Arthur Kohl & Richard Nielsen. Gas Purification, Fifth Edition, Gulf Publishing. ISBN 0-88415-2200. 

References

1. ^ Sulfur production report by the United States Geological Survey
2. ^ Discussion of recovered byproduct sulfur