Monoethylene Glycol as Hydrate Inhibitor in Offshore Natural Gas Processing

Describes in detail the main technologies for monoethylene glycol (MEG) recovery in offshore platforms for natural gas production Presents the concept of MEG recovery units, their main configurations and their finalities in offshore platforms for natural gas production Provides a quantitative comparison and energetic analysis of MEG recovery units in offshore platforms for natural gas production Provides case studies on the thermodynamic efficiency of general distillation-based processes with sharp and not too sharp cuts, as well as on MEG recovery processes Presents methodology to conduct exergy analysis in complex processes using a professional process simulator
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.