Operational flexibility issues in natural gas processing plants?
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This post was last edited by purplelov on 2017-1-9 at 16:50. There is a project where the client requires a minimum operating load of 30%. Could experts tell me if this can be achieved? Are there any device selections that would make it difficult to meet this requirement?
No one is paying attention:'( I forgot to mention it’s a natural gas processing project
The low-load operation of natural gas pretreatment, which we encounter, is not a problem; even at just 10% load, the issue lies in determining to what extent the energy consumption should be reduced after the load is lowered. If a wet MDEA process is used for the decarbonization system, it is important to choose a packed tower for the absorption tower. If energy consumption is a concern, three amine pump units can be installed, with two in use and one as a backup under normal conditions, and one in use and two as backups at low load levels. If a molecular sieve method is used for the dehydration system, it is important to ensure that the air intake volume is not less than the minimum regeneration air volume.
Is 30% as the minimum design load too stringent??? The minimum flow requirement for the pump is also 30% of its rated value. . . Well, a test
I have worked on natural gas liquefaction plants. When the load is too low, those responsible for selecting compressors end up in trouble; it’s possible that the compressors won’t be suitable for use. That’s exactly what I did back then. Reciprocating compressors have specific requirements regarding cylinder volume, and a single reciprocating compressor cannot handle large variations in gas flow rates. Fortunately, there were experienced engineers who helped me out at that time. . . . Otherwise, one will die trying on this project. Of course, the property owners don’t do this on purpose; some small-scale operators decide to dig their own wells and then connect them to liquefaction plants. In such cases, it’s inevitable that the gas supply will be unstable, or that the amount of gas produced will decline significantly over time. So, all we can do is congratulate the company in question for having taken on this tricky task: lol
I think a 20% fluctuation in load is the maximum
Some pumps can only be considered at 50% per unit