PROPER PRETREATMENT SYSTEMS REDUCE MEMBRANE REPLACEMENTELEMENT COSTS AND IMPROVE RELIABILITY

摘要

Membrane-based CO2 removal systems have become an established technology in the Oil andNatural Gas Industry. Membrane systems continue to win economic evaluations against traditionalsolvent based CO2 removal systems for their simplicity and ease of operation. The size and quantity oflarge scale membrane-based CO2 removal systems have increased over the last 15 years, with largemembrane plants currently treating 500-700 MMSCFD of natural gas to pipeline quality specifications.New large scale designs are approaching flow rates of one BCFD.The critical component for winning economic evaluations against time-proven solvent-basedtechnologies has been the increased reliability of membrane elements in membrane processingfacilities. In early membrane systems, suppliers quickly learned the need for adequate pretreatmentsystems when processing natural gas; Natural gas can, depending on the source and initial treatment,contain a variety of contaminants that may reduce membrane performance. Advanced pretreatmentsystems have been designed to protect membrane elements and further increase longevity.Using standard non-regenerable pretreatment, feed gases containing light hydrocarbons knownas dry gas applications can result in a membrane element life exceeding 4-6 years, however, this canchange dramatically with heavier hydrocarbon feed gases. Upgrading to a regenerable adsorbentpretreatment system for heavy gas streams can now provide similar time of operation before membraneelement replacement may be required.The improvement to membrane element life has positively impacted the economics ofmembrane systems, enabling competitive advantages in even the largest of natural gas processingapplications.