The cost of reboiler fuel represents a significant part of amine plant operatingexpense. This condition has become more significant with the recent increase in gas prices.One method of mitigating this expense is by waste heat recoveryThe application of waste heat recovery to the amine process brings a challenge because of therelatively low degradation temperature of most amines, typically only 75° F above thereboiling temperature. Use of a liquid phase heat medium also brings the problem of aminefilm temperature at the hot end of the reboiler. Steam is the ideal heat medium for aminereboiling because it condenses at a constant temperature, which can be safely below theamine degradation temperature.
展开▼
