The 83

rd
Annual Gas Processors Association Convention
Forum: Benefits of the GPA Research Program
Acid Gas ater !e" #oint$ %&drate
and Ph&sical Pro#ert& Predictions
Authors: Kindra Snow-McGregor
Process Engineer
Washington Group International
Johnny Johnson
Technology Manager
Washington Group International
AB'TRACT:
The accurate prediction o high-!"# acid gas water dew points is diicult$ !"# and %#S
ha&e unusual water holding capacity and hydrate or'ing characteristics( and predicting
these characteristics is urther co'plicated when there are e&en s'all concentrations o
'ethane( nitrogen and other co'pounds$ The data pro&ided ro' the GPA Section )
*esearch Progra' was instru'ental in deter'ining accurate water dew point conditions
or two recent pro+ects$
"ne re,uired accurate deter'ination o the eed gas water content o a high-
!"# content sour natural gas dehydration acility to acilitate e-panding its
capacity( while operating near the critical point o the gas 'i-ture$
*igorous co'parisons .etween the la.oratory data and co''ercially a&aila.le sotware
allowed Washington Group International to deter'ine the 'ost accurate 'odeling tool
a&aila.le or calculating water dew point in high-!"# gas 'i-tures$ A correction actor to
the 'odel was then deter'ined .ased on the co'parisons with the GPA data$
Preli'inary engineering was .ased on these 'odiied predicti&e nu'.ers$ Su.se,uent
dry and wet gas water sa'pling was conducted$ The results o the wet and dry gas
sa'ples were in-line with the correction actor applied predictions( and &eriied the
engineering design .asis$ This wor/ increased the acility0s capacity to appro-i'ately
123 4 o the original design capacity( with essentially the original e,uip'ent$
The other eort in&ol&ed design o an acid gas in+ection 5AGI6 acility that
includes operations near the critical point and at supercritical conditions$
Water content( hydrate or'ation and density o acid gas 'ust .e predicted accurately to
assure sae operation o high-!"# gas conditioning acilities and acid gas in+ection
pipelines$ Washington Group co'pleted rigorous co'parisons .etween the a&aila.le
GPA *esearch *eport data( other a&aila.le data( and co''ercially a&aila.le sotware to
deter'ine the 'ost accurate tools a&aila.le or high-!"# and acid gas hydrate
predictions$ The su.se,uent design wor/ has allowed design( construction and now
sae operation o an acid gas in+ection acility while i'pro&ing plant econo'ics$
Acid Gas !e" #oint and %&drate Predictions
Introduction As design engineers approach pro+ects in&ol&ing high concentrations o
hydrogen sulide 5%#S6 and car.on dio-ide 5!"#6 they 'ust shit their
paradig': ro' the well-docu'ented and well-understood aspects o
handling natural gas strea's7 to the lesser-/nown and co'parati&ely less
well understood aspects o handling luids containing predo'inantly %#S
and !"#$
New
Paradigm
8Physical properties and ther'odyna'ic .eha&ior o %#S and !"#
de&iate signiicantly ro' natural gas strea's$
Water and hydrate e,uili.riu' or %#S and !"# diers signiicantly
ro' natural gas strea's$
)ield processing o high-%#S9!"# luids and AGI acilities 'ost oten
re,uires so'e portions o the process to operate at conditions that
are in or near the critical region o the acid gas 'i-tures phase
diagra'( and other portions e-tend into the supercritical regions$
Physical properties and ther'odyna'ic .eha&ior o acid gas
'i-tures e-hi.it so'e unusual patterns in their dependence on
te'perature and pressure( particularly in the critical and
supercritical regions$
!urrent process si'ulation 'odeling tools ha&e diering le&els o
accuracy in predicting the characteristics and .eha&ior o acid gas
'i-tures$
!urrent process si'ulation 'odeling tools ha&e esta.lished
'ethodology to deine whether a strea' is to .e treated as a
:li,uid; or as a :&apor;:
o depending on where the T-P point lies relati&e to the acid
gas 'i-tures critical point7
o or where the T-P point lies within the &arious portions o the
supercritical region
thus deter'ining the calculation 'ethod used to predict the strea's
properties$ So'e o these :deault; decisions are inaccurate$
In so'e cases( the process si'ulation 'odeling tools are una.le to
co'e to a solution$
In other cases( a solution is achie&ed that is signiicantly in error$
GPA
Research
Efforts
The Gas Processors Association 5GPA6 and Gas Processors Suppliers
Association 5GPSA6 ha&e recogni<ed the need or and .eneits o
unda'ental research to deter'ine solutions to recogni<ed natural gas
industry operating pro.le's$ Their eorts ha&e supported de&elop'ent o
data and process si'ulation 'odeling tools that ha&e allowed signiicant
ad&ance'ent in the design o 'ore opti'u'( econo'ical and sae
acilities$ The Section ) *esearch !o''ittee has .een the pri'ary .ody
responsi.le or deining research progra's( selecting ,ualiied
researchers( 'onitoring and criti,uing the research wor/ and results( and
pu.lishing ,uality data that supports the GPA9GPSA 'e'.ership$ The
GPSA has sponsored the Engineering =ata >oo/ that contains so'e o the
'ost rele&ant data and correlations( and is recogni<ed world-wide as a
&alua.le source o this inor'ation$
Summary of
Current Acid
The GPA and other industry data ha&e allowed process si'ulation
'odeling indi&iduals( uni&ersities and co''ercial ir's to i'pro&e on
Gas Database predicti&e techni,ues and progra's to assist designers and operators in
the natural gas and other industries$ The 'ore than 23 current operating
acid gas in+ection acilities ha&e certainly .eneited ro' these eorts$
%owe&er( 'ost are relati&ely s'all- capacity installations with relati&ely low
operating pressure re,uire'ents or in+ection$ *ecently( 'uch larger( 'ore
co'ple- and 'ore costly installations are .eing considered and installed$
!ertain acilities re,uire operations near the critical point region and into
the supercritical region o the gas 'i-tures phase en&elope$ The speciic
GPA-sponsored pro+ects used or the wor/ reerenced in this paper are
listed .elow( in Ta.le 1$ In GPA pro+ects where 'ultiple gas co'positions
were studied( only the high acid gas co'positions were re&iewed or our
co'parisons$
Ta.le 1$ GPA *esearch *eports utili<ed or this wor/
Pro+ect ?o$
*esearch
*eport ?o$$ Title *esearcher
@#2-@A **-BB
E,uili.riu' Phase !o'position
and %ydrating !onditions in
Syste's !ontaining Me"%( Cight
%ydrocar.ons( !"# and %#S
=>**
@#2-@A **-DE
The Inluence o Methanol on
%ydrate )or'ation at Cow
Te'perature
=>**
@#2-@E **-@D
%ydrate )or'ation and
E,uili.riu' Phase !o'positions
in the Presence o Methanol
=>**
GPSA Eng$ =ata
>oo/
Fol$ II( 11
th
Edition
)igure #3-1#
!o'parison o E-peri'ental and
!alculated Water !ontents or
Acid Gases
=etails ?ot
Pro&ided
DD2-@G **-1#3
Water !ontent Falues o a !"# H
2$A1 Mol Percent Methane
Mi-ture
*ice
Ini&ersity
GE2 **-1DE
Water !ontent o ?atural Gas
Syste's !ontaining Acid Gas
5including so'e density data6
=>**
!ertain other pu.lic and pri&ate data sources were identiied and analy<ed
during the course o Washington Group0s eorts or the pro+ects discussed
in this paper$ %owe&er( it was the GPA data that pro&ed to .e 'ost relia.le
and dee'ed 'ost accurate$
Additional Acid
Gas Data
Requirements
The capital and operating costs o new and e-isting high-acid gas content
processing acilities can .e considera.ly lowered( and the saety o their
operations and 'aintenance can .e i'pro&ed( i additional data were
a&aila.le or water dew point( incipient hydrate or'ation te'perature( and
physical properties o acid gas 'i-tures at pressures a.o&e a.out 233
psig$
GPA *esearch Pro+ects G@D( GGD( 3A# and 3AB are in progress to address
certain H >IT ?"T ACC - pertinent water content and hydrate issues$ The
proposed GPA *esearch Pro+ect 3E# will speciically address physical
properties o acid gas 'i-tures i appro&ed during the in-progress
'e'.ership .alloting$
%igh(C)
*
Gas Conditioning Plant
Background Pre&ious to de.ottlenec/ing o a sour gas dehydration acility( the inlet sour
gas water content was esti'ated ro' plant historical operating data( and
ro' co'puter si'ulation$ Inortunately( the plant historical water disposal
rates pro&ided signiicant e&idence that the inlet water content was either
'uch lower than what the co'puter si'ulations predicted( or the actual dry
gas product water content 'ust .e 'uch higher than what the si'ulations
predicted$
Analyzer
Problems
%istorically( the acility had diiculty with accurate dry gas 'oisture
analy<er 'easure'ents due to TEG entrain'ent ro' the TEG !ontactors$
=uring this phase o the pro+ect( there were no 'oisture analy<er
instru'ents a&aila.le that were considered to gi&e accurate responses$
The lac/ o accurate dry gas water content data pre&ented calculation o an
accurate water .alance around the acility$ This pre&ented direct resolution
.etween the operating data and si'ulation or other calculations$ We were
conident in how 'uch water was re'o&ed ro' the gas .ased on careul
plant 'easure'ent( .ut were not conident in the water content o the inlet
and outlet gas si'ulation predictions$
Equiment and
!EG "ouling
Problems
=ue to ouling pro.le's in the TEG syste'( and e,uip'ent peror'ance
issues( the TEG circulation rate to the !ontactor was e-tre'ely low$ The
circulation rates were o the chart or all TEG dehydration syste' design
guides( and in 'any cases the si'ulations or the TEG !ontactor would
not con&erge as a result o the &ery low TEG eed rate to the !ontactor$
The low TEG circulation rates( co'.ined with the high-%#S and !"#
content o the gas 'ade predicting the water content o the dry gas
e-tre'ely diicult$ E&en typical TEG !ontactor peror'ance was un/nown
at these conditions$ The acid gas solu.ility in the TEG was o&er-predicted
.y a actor o # in co'parison to the historical loading o the recycle gas
co'pressors at the acility( adding to the diiculty o setting up a si'ulation
that would 'odel actual plant peror'ance$
It was speculated that the dry gas water content could .e anywhere ro'
#3 l.9MMsc to B3 l.9MMsc gas( &ersus the inlet wet gas water content$ I
the dry gas water content was a.o&e A3 l.9MMsc( then corrosion o the dry
gas pipeline could .e occurring$
Engineering
#asis
$ndefined
This uncertainty posed a signiicant pro.le'$ The 'ain design
considerations or a dehydration acility are water content o the inlet gas(
and the design dry gas water content to .e 'et at the design inlet gas low
rate$ This inor'ation essentially sets the re,uired circulation rate o TEG(
and i'pacts the si<ing o all pu'ps( cross-e-changers( and 'ost
i'portantly( the re.oiler$
Path "orward To o&erco'e the lac/ o relia.le water content data ro' the plant
operation( it was decided to deter'ine the 'ost accurate tool a&aila.le to
predict the inlet water content o the gas$ In&estigation was done to o.tain
all a&aila.le and pu.lished sour gas water content data$ The data was
then co'pared to &arious si'ulation 'odels e,uili.riu' predictions$
#enefits of
GPA Research
Reorts
)ro' re&iew o the data 9 si'ulation co'parisons( a correction actor was
deter'ined to .e applied to si'ulations o our gas co'position and
conditions to pro&ide a 'ore accurate esti'ate o the inlet water content to
the acility$ The predicted JdryJ gas water content or any operating
condition was then o.tained using a Mc!a.e-Thiele analysis o the TEG
!ontactor$ A spreadsheet calculation has .een de&eloped to allow plug-in
o speciic para'eters and ,uic/ output o predicted peror'ance as shown
in )igure 1 .elow$ "perating data ro' the downstrea' acility allowed an
indirect 'ethod o .ac/ calculating the e-iting dry gas water content$
These results were ound to agree well with the descri.ed si'ulation 9
calculation 'ethod and &alidated the correction actor used or deter'ining
the inlet water content to the acility$
)igure 1 Mc!a.e-Thiele =iagra' E-a'ple

Post TAR Performance Testing ( Train + Fi,ed -alve Tra&s
.levated Rates ( 3/0 11scfd at +8 g#m lean T.G
+2$222 l34 Car3on Test Filters in )#eration !uring Test
y K BDE$GA- L 1B$1@B
*
#
K 1
y K -AD1$3E-
#
L BB@$AA- L 11$1B@
*
#
K 1
y K -@EE$@D-
#
L 2#@$#B-
*
#
K 3$GG@G
y K -11GB$G-
#
L B2A$BE-
*
#
K 3$GGGD
3
#3
E3
B3
@3
133
1#3
1E3
3 3$32 3$1 3$12 3$# 3$#2
l3%
*
)56l3%
*
)7l3T.G8
l
3
%
*
)
5
1
1
s
c
f
>*ME Tray Eiciency - 3$A1
"perating Cine E,n:
%NSNS E,uili.riu' Cine E,n:
>* M E
E,uili.riu' Cine
>*ME Pseudo-E,uili.riu' Cine
"perating Cine
O1#(N1A
O3( N1
Inlet Water !ontent: 1#E l.9MMsc
PAS*C Preli'inary *esultsQ
=ry Gas Water !ontent: #A l.9MMsc
PAS*C Preli'inary *esultsQ
Cean TEG !o'p: GG$3# wt 4 TEG
*ich TEG !o'p: @E$1 wt 4 TEG
Total TEG Coss: #$2 gal9MMsc
3$BE gal TEG circ$9l. %#" re'o&ed
Total Water *e'o&ed:
Measured: 1B@3 l.9hr %#"
!alculated: 12DE l.9hr %#"
Total Plant Processing *ate:
RBA3 Mscd
>*ME Pseudo-E,uili.riu' Cine E,n:
>* M E E,uili.riu' Cine E,n:
%NSNS
E,uili.riu' Cine
The TEG !ontactors ha&e 1# trays( or 1# actual stages$ The operating line
is deined ro' plant peror'ance data$ )ro' the operating line( the
pseudo-e,uili.riu' line is calculated using an esti'ated >ryan *esearch
and Engineering 5>*ME6 tray eiciency$ The >*ME tray eiciency is then
ad+usted until 1# actual stages are achie&ed$ "nce the >*ME tray
eiciency has .een deter'ined ro' operating data( the Mc!a.e-Thiele
diagra' can .e used to predict how the contactor will peror' under
dierent operating conditions assu'ing the tray eiciency does not
change$
Definition of
Alied !ray
Efficiency
This later assu'ption has pro&en to .e &alid o&er the range o conditions
considered or the pro+ect$ The %NSNS e,uili.riu' line 5using the Peng-
*o.inson e,uation o state6 is pro&ided to illustrate the dierence o the
e,uili.riu' predictions .etween %NSNS and >*ME$ The sa'e 'ethod
descri.ed a.o&e can .e used to de&elop a %NSNS pseudo-e,uili.riu' line$
A dierent %NSNS tray eiciency would result to 'atch actual
peror'ance$ The pseudo-e,uili.riu' line is deined .y the ollowing
e,uation:
N pseudo-e,uili.riu' K N operating line H ST5N operating line H N >*MEe,uili.riu'6
Where S K tray eiciency$
Ater the TEG !ontactor peror'ance has .een deter'ined at the chosen
operating conditions .ased on plant data( hand calculations are co'pleted
to calculate speciic heat e-changer duties( ter'inal te'peratures( and
lash gas and regenerator o-gas &olu'es$ The trial and error hand
calculations utili<ed actual heat e-changer peror'ance data( a&aila.le
TEG ther'ophysical property data( and actual plant operating data or the
acid gas solu.ility in the TEG$ Through the use o the GPA *esearch =ata(
Washington Group was a.le to or' a sound engineering design approach
to de.ottlenec/ing the acility$
"nly the GPA *esearch *eports that were used will .e re&iewed in this
report$ All selected data conditions and co'positions were si'ulated using
the ollowing un'odiied( pu.licly a&aila.le sotware:
%riginal
&odels $sed
AUIAli.iru'( Fersion #$3i( =r$ John J$ !arroll
P*"SIM( Fersion GD$3( >ryan *esearch and Engineering( Inc$
%NSNS( Fersion #$E$1( %yprotech
)or the purposes o this paper( all the GPA research report data was re-run
using the ollowing updated &ersions o the sotware$
&odels
Reorted
AUIAli.iru'( Fersion #$3i( =r$ John J$ !arroll
P*"SIM( Fersion G@$A( >ryan *esearch and Engineering( Inc$
ProMa-( >eta Fersion #$3( >ryan *esearch and Engineering( Inc$ 5>*E6
%NSNS( Fersion A$1( Aspentech
The data co'parison results or P*"SIM( ProMa-( and in so'e cases(
%NSNS were pro&ided directly .y technical specialists ro' >ryan
*esearch and Engineering( and Aspentech respecti&ely$ The data
co'parisons or AUIAli.riu' were co'pleted .y Washington Group
#RE &odified
'i( "iles
>ryan *esearch and Engineering( Inc$ 5>*E6 pro&ided 'odiied Ki+ data
iles that pro&ide si'ulation prediction i'pro&e'ents or acid gas water
content calculations$ The results o these 'odiied Ki+ iles are pro&ided in
the **-1DE section$ These iles are a&aila.le to the pu.lic( and are
reco''ended or high-acid gas co'positions$ !ontact >*E directly or
the i'pro&ed Ki+ data iles$
Research Re#ort +*2: Water Content Values of a CO2 5.31 Mol
Percent Methane Miture
Datum
Analyzed
The iso.ar datu' at G33( 1(133( and 1(233 psia were o the greatest
interest to us( particularly in the te'perature range o 1#3 - 1#2
o
)$ The
ollowing data co'parisons were helpul in our deter'ination o an
ade,uate correction actor to use$ It should .e noted that the results ro'
%NSNS were not used or our wor/$ %NSNS reported that the deault
.inary interaction para'eters 5>IP6 are 'ost li/ely itted or lower !"#
concentration syste's( and thereore are less suita.le or this syste'
where !"# content in the gas strea' is as high as G24$ To accurately
represent the phase .eha&ior o such a syste'( the .inary interaction
para'eters should .e re-regressed with ade,uate data$ The pro+ect
resources and schedule did not allow the ti'e to underta/e such an eort$
)igure #$ Sour Gas Water !ontent !o'parisons( **-1#3( G33 psia Iso.ar
)igure A$ Si'ulation =e&iations or Sour Gas Water !ontent !o'parisons
**-1#3( G33 psia Iso.ar
)igure E$ Sour Gas Water !ontent !o'parisons( **-1#3( 1(133 psia Iso.ar
)igure 2$ Si'ulation =e&iations or Sour Gas Water !ontent !o'parisons
**-1#3( 1(133 psia Iso.ar
)igure B$ Sour Gas Water !ontent !o'parisons( **-1#3( 1(233 psia Iso.ar
)igure D$ Si'ulation =e&iations or Sour Gas Water !ontent !o'parisons
**-1#3( 1(233 psia Iso.ar
)igure @$ Si'ulation =e&iations or Sour Gas Water !ontent !o'parisons
**-1#3( 1##
o
) Isother'
Summary of
Results
)ro' the si'ulation de&iation co'parisons( it is clear that additional wor/
is re,uired to produce 'ore accurate acid gas dew point predictions or
near pure !"#$ !urrently( it is up to the engineer to deter'ine the 'ost
accurate water content prediction correlation or a gi&en 'odel$ They 'ust
.e cogni<ant o particular 'odel short alls or high acid gas concentration
strea's to 'a/e an educated decision$ Through out this pro+ect( 'any
e,uip'ent &endors pro&ided the client with si'ulation 'odel results( and
concluded that all o the e,uip'ent was signiicantly undersi<ed to 'eet
the pro+ect de'ands$ These conclusions were .ased on their e-tre'ely
high 'odel predictions oro inlet gas water content to the acility( which
were in error$
Current
&odels
Deficiency
)or the conditions o our interest( the applica.le 'odels consistently ha&e
de&iations around #34( with plus or 'inus depending on the correlation
and 'odeling tool as illustrated a.o&e$
Research Re#ort +/9: Water Content of !atural "as #$ste%s
Containing &cid "as
Datum
Analyzed
The datu' pro&ided in Ta.les 2(B( 11( and 1# were o the 'ost interest to
us or the purposes o our wor/$ Ta.les 2 and B pro&ide two isother' data
sets 51#3
o
)( and #33
o
)6 o e,uili.riu' phase properties or syste's
containing 24 'ethane-propane 5G2:2 'ole ratio6 and G24 hydrogen
sulide-car.on dio-ide 51:A 'ole ratio6 in the presence o water$
Ta.les 11 and 1# pro&ide two isother' data sets 51#3
o
)( and #33
o
)6 o
e,uili.riu' phase properties or syste's containing 24 'ethane-propane
5G2:2 'ole ratio6 and G24 hydrogen sulide-car.on dio-ide 51:1 'ole ratio6
in the presence o water$
The results ro' %NSNS are not presented here .ecause the de&iations
using deault >IP &alues are so large it intereres with the graphical
analyses$ )or e-a'ple( the a&erage %NSNS de&iations using deault >IP
&alues or Ta.le 2 and B are #@34( and 1#34 respecti&ely$
%dd Phase
#eha)ior
)ro' )igure G( the diiculty in predicting water content o high !"#-acid
gas containing syste's is illustrated$ ?otice the signiicant drop in
e,uili.riu' water content at #33
o
)( ro' #33 psia 5RB 'ole 46 to 1(233
psia 5R1$2 'ole 46$ This .eha&ior is 'uch less pronounced at 1#3
o
)$
)igure G Water !ontent Predictions and =ata !o'parisons( **-1DE( Ta.le 2 and B
)igure 13 Si'ulation =e&iations or Sour Gas Water !ontent !o'parisons
**-1DE( Ta.le 2( Isother' K 1#3
o
)
)igure 11 Si'ulation =e&iations or Sour Gas Water !ontent !o'parisons
**-1DE( Ta.le B( Isother' K #33
o
)
)igure 1# Water !ontent Predictions and =ata !o'parisons( **-1DE( Ta.le 11
)igure 1A Si'ulation =e&iations or Sour Gas Water !ontent !o'parisons
**-1DE( Ta.le 11( Isother' K 1#3
o
)
)igure 1E Water !ontent Predictions and =ata !o'parisons( **-1DE( Ta.le 1#
)igure 12 Si'ulation =e&iations or Sour Gas Water !ontent !o'parisons
**-1DE( Ta.le 1#( Isother' K #33
o
)
Current
&odels
Deficiency
)ro' the si'ulation de&iation co'parisons( it is clear that additional wor/
is re,uired to produce 'ore accurate high !"#-acid gas water dew point
predictions$ )ro' re&iewing this datu'( along with other sources( it was
decided that a correction actor o 3$@( applied to either P*"SIM
un'odiied Ki+ output( or AUIAli.riu' output( would pro&ide a 'ore
accurate prediction o the inlet water content to this acility and or
operation at the design pressure and te'perature conditions$
Acid Gas :n;ection 6AG:8 Facilit&
#ac*ground Washington Group recently co'pleted a successul AGI Pro+ect$
A&aila.ility o pertinent data de&eloped under the GPA Section ) *esearch
!o''ittee was unda'ental to success o this pro+ect in se&eral ways:
The econo'ic &ia.ility and proita.ility o this natural gas
processing acility was i'pro&ed7
The operating lie o the acility was e-tended .y a ew years7
The saety o operating personnel was ensured during nor'al
operation7
And 'ore i'portantly( the potential or unsae conditions during
startup( shutdown( and operating upsets could .e identiied and
'itigated during design H rather than learning ro' .ad
e-periences$
Acid Gas
+n(ection
Process Phase
Diagram
)igure 1B represents the process design o the acid gas in+ection syste'
superi'posed on the phase diagra' or one o the acid gas 'i-tures
considered in the design o the su.+ect acility$ The phase diagra' is
located generally in the lower let portion o the igure$ To the right o the
phase diagra' is the representation o the acid gas co'pression ro'
a.out 13 psig through 2 stages o co'pression( that includes inter-cooling
o the discharge gas ro' stages 1 through E$ The acid gas ro' the inal
2th stage o co'pression discharges into an a.o&e-ground trans'ission
pipeline that transers the acid gas at a.out 1#33-1A33 psig to the in+ection
wellhead$ A wellhead heater o&erco'es any e-cessi&e heat loss along the
pipeline due to the cold winter cli'ate$ The acid gas enters the wellhead
and gains additional pressure to #233 psig due to static head as it lows
down the wellstring and .ac/ into the reser&oir ro' which it originated$
)igure 1B Process =esign o Acid Gas In+ection Syste'
Phase .nvelo#e 'u#erim#osed "ith Com#ression$
Pi#eline and ell Conditionds
2
*22
922
<22
822
+222
+*22
+922
+<22
+822
*222
**22
*922
*<22
(92 (*2 2 *2 92 <2 82 +22 +*2 +92 +<2 +82 *22 **2 *92 *<2 *82 322
Tem#erature$ !eg F
P
r
e
s
s
u
r
e
$

#
s
i
a
Hydrate @ 135 LB/MMSCF
Hydrate @ Saturated
Conditions
Acid Gas Phase
Enveo!e
"eservoir Conditions
#n$ection %e Strin&
%esite
Heater
PC' Pressure (ro!
Pi!eine Pressure (ro!
5th Sta&e (ischar&e
Co)!ression/Cooin& Sta&es
%ater (e* Point @
Pi!eine %ater Content
,ater Carrying
Caacity of
Acid Gas
&i-tures at
Ele)ated
Pressures
An AGI design re,uires good /nowledge o the water carrying capacity o
acid gas 'i-tures to deter'ine under what operating conditions :ree
water; 'ight .e e-pected to e-ist$ This acility speciically needed the
a.ility to handle acid gas 'i-tures containing ro' a.out 24 %#S to a.out
234 %#S( the rest .eing !"# and a s'all a'ount o 'ethane$ )ree water
in car.on steel e,uip'ent handling acid gas could cause serious corrosion(
resulting in e,uip'ent ailure and potential e-posure o operating
personnel to to-ic acid gas$ Ise o corrosion resistant 'aterials would
increase the cost o AGI acilities( perhaps 'a/ing the' unecono'ical$
It is accepted that prediction o acid gas 'i-tures water content can .e
done with reasona.le accuracy at .elow a.out 233 psig( .ut prediction o
dew point conditions and water content at higher pressures presents a
'ore signiicant challenge$ The data generated under the &arious research
pro+ects reerenced earlier were unda'ental to Washington Group0s
analysis o the su.+ect AGI acility$ Ise o pu.licly a&aila.le process
si'ulation 'odels were cali.rated &ersus the data during de&elop'ent o
the process and detailed design o the acility$
&odeling
Differences
?ote that one 'odel was used to calculate :water dew point te'perature;
o a.out L2) or the calculated water content$ This predicted point at this
low te'perature would 'ore li/ely then .e an :ice; or :hydrate; point$
Another 'odeling tool( howe&er( predicts an incipient hydrate or'ation
te'perature o a.out -A3) or the sa'e calculated water content$
Acid Gas Can
#e Self.
Dehydrating
)igure 1D pro&ides the water content predictions 'ade or the one o the
acid gas co'positions and relects clearly the eect that co'pression o an
acid gas 'i-ture is :sel dehydrating; due to the uni,ue saturated water
content characteristic o %#S( !"#( and their 'i-tures$
)igure 1D Acid Gas Saturated Water !ontent
As the pressure is increasingly raised in the latter co'pression stages
a.o&e a.out 233-D33 psig( at a i-ed te'perature( the 'i-tures .eco'e
drier relati&e to the saturated water dew point$ In other words( at ele&ated
pressure acid gas 'i-tures can hold 'ore water at a gi&en te'perature
than they could at say 233 psig$ The interstage cooler and water /noc/out
dru'( operating at a.out 233 psig( thereore condense and re'o&e water
and the acid gas 'i-ture e-its at its 'ini'u' saturated water content 5in
this case a.out 1#2-1A2 l.s9MMS!)6$ The acid gas ro' the inal stage5s6
o co'pression to higher pressure is thereore under-saturated$ ?o ree
water will .e condensed in the higher pressure portions o the in+ection
syste' unless the acid gas is cooled 5e$g$ .y pipeline heat loss6 to 'uch
colder te'peratures 5perhaps in the range o -A3V) to LA#V)( depending on
the te'perature and resulting water content o the acid gas lea&ing the Eth
ater Content of .nriched Acid Gas
Average Annual Case
2
+22
*22
322
922
022
<22
2 +22 *22 322 922 022 <22 /22 822 =22 +222 ++22 +*22 +322 +922 +022
Pressure$ #sia
'
a
t
u
r
a
t
e
d

a
t
e
r

C
o
n
t
e
n
t

6
l
3

"
a
t
e
r
5
m
m
s
c
f

g
a
s
8
Mini'u' Water !ontent
achie&ed at Stage E outlet
=ew point W 1233 psia
53
o
)6
52
o
)6
5A#
o
)6
5@3
o
)6
5133
o
)6
Saturated Water !ontent W 1#3 )
Saturated Water !ontent W 133 )
Saturated Water !ontent W @3 )
51#3
o
)6
stage intercooler6$ >ased on this characteristic( the su.+ect design
e-tensi&ely used car.on steel downstrea' o the Eth stage o co'pression
and a gas dehydration unit was not re,uired$ The considera.le capital cost
sa&ings or this single acility was appro-i'ately e,ual to the cost o the
'entioned research progra's paid or .y the GPA9GPSA 'e'.ership$
Thereore( the 'ore than 23 acid gas in+ection acilities ha&e undou.tedly
.eneited ro' GPA data .y 'any ti'es its initial cost$
/ydrate
Pre)ention
There is a high potential or the or'ation o hydrates in three critical
co'ponents o AGI7 acid gas co'pression and intercooling( pipeline
trans'ission( and low into the in+ection well string itsel$ The hydrate
crystals could or' hydrate plugs that pre&ent acid gas in+ection$ The
saety concerns reported .y Sloan in another paper in this session are
e&en 'ore serious with the presence o %#S in AGI acilities$ Again the
unda'ental research and data a&aila.le ro' GPA-sponsored progra's
has played a leading role in the understanding o hydrate or'ation
conditions in acid gas operations$ Ising pu.licly a&aila.le process
si'ulation 'odeling tools( Washington Group was a.le to predict incipient
hydrate or'ation conditions or the acid gas 'i-tures at the nu'erous
conditions anticipated or the &arious operating cases and
startup9shutdown scenarios$ )igure 1@ consists o a set o incipient
hydrate or'ation cur&es or &arious le&els o water content as predicted
or dierent Eth stage intercooler outlet te'peratures$ =epending on the
acid gas co'position( Eth stage intercooling to 133V) results in achie&ing a
water content o 1#2-1A2 l.s9MMS!) 5)igure 1D6( and this water content is
low enough to pre&ent hydrate or'ation unless the acid gas is cooled
.elow a.out -A3V) 5)igure 1@6$
)igure 1@ Incipient %ydrate )or'ation !ur&es

Phase .nvelo#e > :nci#ient %&drate Curves
2422
*22422
922422
<22422
822422
+222422
+*22422
+922422
+<22422
(+2242 (82422 (<2422 (92422 (*2422 2422 *2422 92422 <2422 82422 +22422 +*2422 +92422
Tem#erature$ !eg F
P
r
e
s
s
u
r
e
$

#
s
i
a

Hydrate @ +,, -/MMsc.
Hydrate @ /15 -/MMsc.
Hydrate @ 1/5 -/MMsc.
Hydrate @ 5 -/MMsc.
Acid Gas
Phase Enveo!e
Hydrate @ Satd Conditions
&ethanol
+n(ection for
/ydrate
Pre)ention
The su.+ect acid gas in+ection pro+ect design allows or in+ection o
'ethanol during startup( shutdown( and upset periods to a&oid water
condensation and hydrate or'ation$ This is a well pro&en concept .ut the
accuracy o acid gas 9 'ethanol 9water 9 hydrate e,uili.riu' data is o
concern to allow proper design$ Again( Washington Group reerenced data
a&aila.le ro' GPA *esearch *eports BB( DE and @D to deter'ine the
design para'eters and 'argins needed$
)igures 1G through #A present the co'parisons co'pleted using &arious
si'ulation 'odeling tools &ersus the reported data$ ?atural gas 'i-tures
5)igure 1G6 are accurately( i not slightly conser&ati&ely( predicted and allow
sae design$ Predictions o natural gas with addition o considera.le !"#
5)igure #16 are less accurate( especially at higher concentrations o
'ethanol( .ut are still generally conser&ati&e in prediction$ This 'ay .e
due to the un/nown ratio o 'ethanol9gas in the test cell$
)igure 1G %ydrate =ata and Si'ulation !o'parisons( **-BB( Ta.le G( Synthetic ?atural
Gas and Methanol Syste'
)igure #3 %ydrate =ata and Si'ulation !o'parisons( **-DE( Ta.le B( Synthetic ?atural
Gas and Methanol Syste'
)igure #1 %ydrate and Si'ulation !o'parisons( **-DE( Ta.le E( BG$D2 'ol 4 !%E(
A3$#2 'ol 4 !"#( and Methanol Syste'
The co'parisons presented in )igure ## or pure %#S relect that the
'odeling tools predict incipient hydrate or'ation te'perature &ery well(
e&en at higher 'ethanol concentrations$ Pure !"#( and 'i-tures with high
!"# content appear to .e the 'ore diicult to predict with the current
'odeling tools$ )igure #A relects that ortunately the 'odels predict
hydrate or'ation at te'peratures war'er than the data indicate( so use o
the results or design should .e conser&ati&e$ Their accuracy does worsen
as 'ethanol concentration increases$
)igure ##( %ydrate =ata and Si'ulation !o'parisons( **-BB( Ta.le E
)igure #A %ydrate =ata and Si'ulation !o'parisons( **-DE( Ta.le #
Physical
Proerties of
Acid Gas
&i-tures
)igures #E through #@ represent inor'ation generated .y one o the
pro'inent process si'ulation 'odeling progra's or a 234 %#S 9 234
!"# acid gas 'i-ture$ )igure #E pro&ides the phase en&elope or the
'i-ture and indicates a critical point o a.out 1#33 psig and 1#3V)$ )igures
#2 through #@ pro&ide predicted physical properties &ersus pressure and
te'perature or density( heat capacity( &iscosity and ther'al conducti&ity$
These igures relect that there are so'e consistent discontinuities in the
predicted properties( particularly in the te'perature range o 1#2V) to
#D2V) and pressure range o 1333 psig to E333 psig$ This is a range o
te'peratures and pressures co''only encountered in the co'pression(
cooling( pipeline transport( and in+ection o acid gas 'i-tures$ )or the
generally s'all current acid gas in+ection acilities( the errors in prediction
o these properties and the i'pact on the e,uip'ent and pipeline design
are li/ely co&ered .y typical e,uip'ent design 'argins and rounding in
selection o pipe si<es$ %owe&er( the 'ore recent and proposed large and
'ore co'ple- acid gas in+ection acilities 'ay .e signiicantly i'pacted .y
the error in predicted physical properties$
)igure 1G#E Acid Gas Phase En&elope
)igure #32 Acid Gas =ensities as a unction o Pressure and Te'perature
)igure #B1 Acid Gas Fiscosity as a unction o Pressure and Te'perature
)igure #1D Acid Gas %eat !apacity as a )unction o Pressure and Te'perature
)igure ##@ Acid Gas Ther'al !onducti&ity as a )unction o Pressure and Te'perature
&odeling
Defaults
The reason or 'ost o the discontinuities in the predicted inor'ation in
)igures #32 through ##@ is that the progra's deault 'ethodology has
certain criteria to deter'ine whether the gi&en strea' is a li,uid or a &apor(
which then selects a dierent 'ethod o calculating the physical properties$
This 'ethodology needs i-ing or 'odeling such syste's$
Washington Group wor/ed to eli'inate these discontinuities .y ad+usting
correlation para'eters or /ey properties such as heat capacity and density
to produce calculation results that 'ight 'ore properly relect the state o
the 'i-tures in actual operation$ %owe&er( this still produced process and
e,uip'ent design results that had so'e degree o uncertainty$ See
)igures #GA and A3E$
)igure #GA Ad+usted Acid Gas %eat !apacity as a )unction o Te'perature at 1(233 psia
)igure A3E Ad+usted Acid Gas =ensity as a )unction o Te'perature at 1(233 psia

Acid Gas
!ensit& vs Tem# ? +022 P':A

2
+2
*2
32
92
02
<2
/2
2 02 +22 +02 *22 *02 322
Tem#erature$ !eg F
!
e
n
s
i
t
&
$
@
B
5
F
T

3
The reerenced GPA **-1DE also reported so'e density data or the acid
gas 'i-tures$ The 'odeling progra' did a reasona.le +o. o accurately
predicting acid gas density( though in the critical and supercritical regions
the prediction could .e 13-#34 in error H generally predicting a higher
density than 'easured$ Since 'any acid gas in+ection acilities operate in
Acid Gas %eat Ca#cit& vs Tem#erature at +$022 P':A
2
24*
249
24<
248
+
+4*
+49
+4<
+48
*
2 *2 92 <2 82 +22 +*2 +92 +<2 +82 *22 **2 *92 *<2 *82 322
Tem#erature$ !eg F
C
#
$

B
T
A
5
@
B
(
F
Avera&e Annua
"ated Case
0urndo*n Case
these regions( proper prediction o wellstring static head and thereore
re,uired top hole in+ection pressure could .e in error H too low$ Thereore(
the in+ection co'pressor or pu'p head could .e speciied incorrectly H
.eing deicient$
The su.+ect acid gas in+ection pro+ect predictions were ortunately close to
the resulting actual operation$ %owe&er( there was so'e incre'ental
in&est'ent re,uired in the co'pressors and pipeline to pro&ide so'e
le-i.ility to produce a higher discharge pressure than calculated and
ensure the success o the pro+ect$
Recommendations for Future GPA Research Pro;ects
Proosed GPA
Research
Pro(ect to
+mro)e
Predictions
Actual 'easured data or certain the other physical properties or acid gas
'i-tures are not readily a&aila.le to co'pare to the predicti&e 'odels$ The
GPA Section ) *esearch !o''ittee has recogni<ed this deiciency and
has proposed a new Pro+ect 3E# to collect data or se&eral acid gas 'i-ture
co'positions in the near critical and supercritical regions$ =ata ro' this
progra' should pro&ide considera.le reerence data to chec/ predictions
and will aidd co''ercial ir's and indi&iduals in de&eloping i'pro&ed
'odeling 'ethods$
&ethanol#oth
0aor and
1iquid Phase
Comosition
for. /ydrate
01E Data
The hydrate data pro&ided in the GPA *esearch *eports do not contain
any data on the 'ethanol concentration in the syste'$ The eects on the
hydrate predictions appear to increase at higher 'ethanol concentration
and pressure$ *esearchers should .e as/ed to report Tthe a'ount o
a,ueous phase .eing reportedto would aid in hydrate 'odel de&elop'ent$
01E data of
Acid Gas
Systems at
/igh Pressure
Additional data on &apor 9 li,uid e,uili.riu' o acid gas syste's at ele&ated
pressures would aid in urther de&elop'ent o si'ulation 'odels to 'ore
accurately predict the phase .eha&ior o these syste's$ This will .eis
.eco'ing 'ore i'portant as higher acid gas in+ection pressure operations
it is .eco'eing 'ore co''on in industry to either process or in+ect high
pressure acid gas$
AcBno"ledgements
Washington Group would li/e to ac/nowledge the ollowing indi&iduals who
donated their ti'e to assist us with the data analysis presented in this
paper$ It is i'portant to ac/nowledge that each o these ir's and
indi&iduals donated their ti'e and resources to de&elop the co'parisons
represented in this paper or contri.uted to the e-a'ple pro+ects eorts$
Their cooperation and support was oered to urther the /nowledge in the
industry to the accuracy o current 'odels( which or 'ost situations and
luid properties can allow sae and successul design$ Most i'portantly(
this was a cooperati&e eort to identiy additional data needs to the
industry to allow these and other parties to de&elop urther i'pro&ed
'odeling and design tools$
!hristina =aniels( >ryan *esearch and Engineering( Inc$
=r$ =an Xhang( "ilphase-=>*( Schlu'.erger !anada Ctd$
=r$ >eryl Ed'onds( Inoche' !o'puter Ser&ices Ctd$
>rian Wood( %yprotech !o'pany - a su.sidiary o Aspen
Technology
=r$ E$ =endy Sloan( !olorado School o Mines
=r$ Paul =a&is( Al.erta Sulphur *esearch Ctd$
Ste&e Mac)arland( Ste&e Mac)arland( Inc$
In addition( Washington Group would li/e to ac/nowledge the contri.utions
ro' Mr$ !hris *oot o =u/e Energy )ield Ser&ices in analy<ing the
physical properties predicted o .y a pu.lic 'odeling tool or &arious acid
gas 'i-tures$