Monoethylene glycol as hydrate inhibitor in offshore natural gas processing : from fundamentals to energy analysis

This book addresses several issues related to hydrate inhibition and monoethylene glycol (MEG) recovery units (MRUs) in offshore natural gas fields, from fundamentals to engineering aspects and from energy consumption assessment to advanced topics such as exergy analysis. The assessment of energy degradation in MRUs is critical in offshore rigs, and the topic of exergy theory has by no means been completely explored; it is still being developed. The book presents a comprehensive, yet concise, formulation for exergy flow and examines different approaches for the reference state of MEG and definition of the reference environment so as to obtain an effective exergy analysis with consistent results. It also provides new and useful information that has a great potential in the field of exergy analysis application by assessing energy degradation for three well-known MRU technologies on offshore rigs: the Traditional Atmospheric Distillation Process; the Full-Stream Process; and the Slip-Stream Process. The book then elucidates how the main design parameters impact the efficiency of MEG recovery units and offers insights into thermodynamic efficiency based on case studies of general distillation-based processes with sharp or not too sharp cut, providing ranges for expected values of efficiencies and enhancing a global comprehension of this subject. Since MEG recovery is an energy consuming process that invariably has to be conducted in a limited space and with limited power supply, the book is a valuable resource for those involved in design, engineering, economic evaluation and environmental evaluation of topside processing on offshore platforms for natural gas production. Preface 6 Contents 9 Abbreviations 12 Nomenclature 13 Greek Symbols 14 Subscripts 15 Superscripts 15 Chapter 1: Introduction 16 References 20 Chapter 2: Hydrate Formation and Inhibition in Offshore Natural Gas Processing 22 References 28 Chapter 3: MEG Loops in Offshore Natural Gas Fields 29 Reference 32 Chapter 4: Thermodynamics of Glycol Systems 33 References 38 Chapter 5: MRU Processes 39 5.1 Traditional Process (TP) 40 5.2 Full-Stream Process (FS) 41 5.3 Slip-Stream Process (SS) 42 References 44 Chapter 6: Energy Consumption and CO2 Emission of MRU Processes 45 6.1 MRU Process Assumptions 46 6.1.1 Power, Heating, and Cooling Resources Available to Offshore MRUs 47 6.2 TP Implementation 49 6.3 FS Implementation 50 6.4 SS Implementation 51 6.5 Heat, Power, Utility Consumptions and CO2 Emissions Results 52 References 53 Chapter 7: Thermodynamic Efficiency of Steady State Operations of MRUs 54 7.1 Thermodynamic Efficiency of Binary Distillation Column 56 7.1.1 Determination of Steady-State Operation Reflux Ratio and Corresponding Heat Duties 58 7.1.2 Minimum Power Required for Steady-State Separation at Constant T and P 60 7.1.3 Actual Equivalent Power Consumption of a Steady-State Binary Distillation Column via the Method of Carnot Equivalent Cyc... 63 7.1.4 Thermodynamic Efficiency of a Steady-State Binary Distillation Column 64 7.2 Multicomponent Distillation Column with Specified Propylene-Propane Sharp Cut 67 7.2.1 Design of Steady-State Multicomponent Distillation: Determination of Size, Reflux Ratio, Feed Location, and Heat Duties 70 7.2.2 Minimum Power Required for Steady-State Propylene-Propane Separation 74 7.2.3 Actual Equivalent Power Consumption of Steady-State Propylene-Propane Distillation Column via the Method of Carnot Equiv... 77 7.2.4 Thermodynamic Efficiency of a Steady-State Propylene-Propane Distillation Column 81 7.3 Thermodynamic Efficiency of a Steady-State Process with Several Power-Consuming Operations 83 References 87 Chapter 8: Exergy Analysis of Chemical Processes 88 8.1 Steady-State Chemical Processes 90 References 95 Chapter 9: Exergy Analysis of MRU Processes in Offshore Platforms 96 9.1 RER Approach #1 96 9.2 RER Approach #2 98 9.3 Results of Exergy Analysis of MRUs 100 9.4 Consistency Cross-Check of Exergy Analysis 107 Reference 109 Chapter 10: Influence of Design Parameters on Exergy Efficiencies of MRU Processes 110 Chapter 11: Energy Performance Versus Exergy Performance of MRU Processes 114 11.1 Modification of MRU Processes for Better Exergy Usage Under Constant Energy Usage 115 Reference 118 Chapter 12: Concluding Remarks 119 Index 122 Front Matter ....Pages i-xvi Introduction (Alexandre Mendonça Teixeira, Lara de Oliveira Arinelli, José Luiz de Medeiros, Ofélia de Queiroz Fernandes Araújo)....Pages 1-6 Hydrate Formation and Inhibition in Offshore Natural Gas Processing (Alexandre Mendonça Teixeira, Lara de Oliveira Arinelli, José Luiz de Medeiros, Ofélia de Queiroz Fernandes Araújo)....Pages 7-13 MEG Loops in Offshore Natural Gas Fields (Alexandre Mendonça Teixeira, Lara de Oliveira Arinelli, José Luiz de Medeiros, Ofélia de Queiroz Fernandes Araújo)....Pages 15-18 Thermodynamics of Glycol Systems (Alexandre Mendonça Teixeira, Lara de Oliveira Arinelli, José Luiz de Medeiros, Ofélia de Queiroz Fernandes Araújo)....Pages 19-24 MRU Processes (Alexandre Mendonça Teixeira, Lara de Oliveira Arinelli, José Luiz de Medeiros, Ofélia de Queiroz Fernandes Araújo)....Pages 25-30 Energy Consumption and CO2 Emission of MRU Processes (Alexandre Mendonça Teixeira, Lara de Oliveira Arinelli, José Luiz de Medeiros, Ofélia de Queiroz Fernandes Araújo)....Pages 31-39 Thermodynamic Efficiency of Steady State Operations of MRUs (Alexandre Mendonça Teixeira, Lara de Oliveira Arinelli, José Luiz de Medeiros, Ofélia de Queiroz Fernandes Araújo)....Pages 41-74 Exergy Analysis of Chemical Processes (Alexandre Mendonça Teixeira, Lara de Oliveira Arinelli, José Luiz de Medeiros, Ofélia de Queiroz Fernandes Araújo)....Pages 75-82 Exergy Analysis of MRU Processes in Offshore Platforms (Alexandre Mendonça Teixeira, Lara de Oliveira Arinelli, José Luiz de Medeiros, Ofélia de Queiroz Fernandes Araújo)....Pages 83-96 Influence of Design Parameters on Exergy Efficiencies of MRU Processes (Alexandre Mendonça Teixeira, Lara de Oliveira Arinelli, José Luiz de Medeiros, Ofélia de Queiroz Fernandes Araújo)....Pages 97-100 Energy Performance Versus Exergy Performance of MRU Processes (Alexandre Mendonça Teixeira, Lara de Oliveira Arinelli, José Luiz de Medeiros, Ofélia de Queiroz Fernandes Araújo)....Pages 101-105 Concluding Remarks (Alexandre Mendonça Teixeira, Lara de Oliveira Arinelli, José Luiz de Medeiros, Ofélia de Queiroz Fernandes Araújo)....Pages 107-109 Back Matter ....Pages 111-114