화학공학소재연구정보센터
Industrial & Engineering Chemistry Research, Vol.58, No.16, 6730-6739, 2019
Removal of Organic Acids during Monoethylene Glycol Distillation and Reclamation To Minimize Long-Term Accumulation
Monoethylene glycol (MEG) is often used in offshore multiphase hydrocarbon transportation pipelines to prevent the formation of natural gas hydrates. Post hydrate inhibition, MEG is separated alongside the water phase and regenerated through a series of chemical and physical processes to remove excess water and process contaminants including mineral salts, production chemicals, and organic acids. The level of organic acids within closed-loop MEG systems is often controlled via vacuum reclamation systems through the formation of nonvolatile salt products allowing their separation from the evaporated MEG/water phase. However, if a reclamation system is unavailable, or operated at low pH, organic acids will ultimately accumulate within the MEG loop. Likewise, removal of organic acids may be achieved during the distillation process by vaporization of the acids in their undissociated volatile form. Within both processes, the removal efficiency of an organic acid is ultimately dictated by the acid's speciation behavior and system pH. The purpose of this study was to measure the removal efficiency of acetic acid during the regeneration and reclamation processes to identify key pH levels to minimize the long-term accumulation of acetic acid. Two equations have been proposed to estimate the removal efficiency of acetic acid during distillation and reclamation individually with an average error compared to reported experimental data of 0.38% and 2.6%, respectively. Combining the two proposed equations, the plant-wide removal of acetic acid can be predicted for a known rich glycol pH and pH rise across the regeneration system allowing practical application to industrial MEG regeneration systems.