Investigation of Alkanol-Amine Solvents and their Blends for CO2 Removal from Natural Gas using Aspen-Hysys

Authors

  • O. A. A. Eletta
  • D. T. Awotoye
  • A. A. Zubairu

Keywords:

natural gas, Aspen HYSYS, liquefaction, CO2 emission, amines

Abstract

The removal of carbon dioxide (CO2) from natural gas is vital towards meeting pipeline sales gas specifications and evading operational complications during the liquefaction of natural gas. Therefore, the removal of CO2 from natural gas is necessary for the efficient utilization of natural gas and for the reduction of global CO2 emission. It is also vital for the effective liquefaction process in the liquefied natural gas project A common and widespread technique used at natural gas plants in Nigeria is the removal of carbon dioxide (CO2) from natural gas through chemical absorption using alkanolamine solutions. In this research, an amine sweetening process is simulated using Aspen HYSYS V10 with a typical Nigerian natural gas composition. The simulation is used to investigate four different kinds of amines and their blends (mixed amines). The investigated amines are Monoethanolamine (MEA), Diethanolamine (DEA), Diglycolamine (DGA) and Methyldiethanolamine (MDEA) while the blends are MDEA + MEA, MDEA + DEA and MDEA + DGA. Results obtained from the simulation show that the mixed amine “MDEA + MEA” with lean amine strength of 11% MEA and 39% MDEA, absorbs 99.97% of CO2 present in the gas and hence, amine blends absorb carbon dioxide from natural gas better than the individual amines. It was also concluded that increasing the composition of the primary or secondary amine while decreasing the composition of the tertiary amine in the lean amine solution (amine blend) led to an increase in the amount of CO2 being absorbed. The study provides useful information on the absorption of CO2 using alkanolamine solvents and their blends in a standard amine sweetening plant.

Author Biographies

D. T. Awotoye

Awotoye is a garduate of  the department of Chemical Engineering, University of Ilorin

A. A. Zubairu

Abdulkadri is a postgraduate student in the Department of Chemical Engineering, University of Ilorin

References

Abdulsalam, J., Mulopo, J., Amosa, M. K., Bada, S., Falcon, R., & Oboirien, B. O. (2019). Towards a cleaner natural gas production: recent developments on purification technologies. Separation Science and Technology (Philadelphia), 54(15), 2461–2497. https://doi.org/10.1080/01496395.2018.1547761

Agbonifo, P. E. (2016). Natural gas distribution infrastructure and the quest for environmental sustainability in the Niger Delta: The prospect of natural gas utilization in Nigeria. International Journal of Energy Economics and Policy, 6(3), 442–448.

Dong, K., Sun, R., & Hochman, G. (2017). Do natural gas and renewable energy consumption lead to less CO2 emission? Empirical evidence from a panel of BRICS countries. Energy, 141, 1466–1478. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.energy.2017.11.092

Ghanbarabadi, H., & Khoshandam, B. (2015). Journal of Natural Gas Science and Engineering Simulation and comparison of Sul fi nol solvent performance with Amine solvents in removing sulfur compounds and acid gases from natural sour gas. Journal of Natural Gas Science and Engineering, 22, 415–420. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jngse.2014.12.024

Grande, C. A., Roussanaly, S., Anantharaman, R., Lindqvist, K., Singh, P., & Kemper, J. (2017). CO2 Capture in Natural Gas Production by Adsorption Processes. Energy Procedia, 114(1876), 2259–2264. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.egypro.2017.03.1363

Hassan, A., & Kouhy, R. (2013). Gas flaring in Nigeria: Analysis of changes in its consequent carbon emission and reporting. Accounting Forum, 37(2), 124–134. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.accfor.2013.04.004

Nwaoha, C., Odoh, K., Ikpatt, E., Orji, R., & Idem, R. (2017). Process simulation , parametric sensitivity analysis and ANFIS modeling of CO 2. Biochemical Pharmacology. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jece.2017.10.038

Nwaoha, C., & Wood, D. A. (2014). A review of the utilization and monetization of Nigeria’s natural gas resources: Current realities. Journal of Natural Gas Science and Engineering, 18, 412–432. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jngse.2014.03.019

Otene, I. J. J., Murray, P., & Enongene, K. E. (2016). The potential reduction of carbon dioxide (Co2) emissions from gas flaring in Nigeria’s oil and gas industry through alternative productive use. Environments - MDPI, 3(4), 1–20. https://doi.org/10.3390/environments3040031

Quek, V. C., Shah, N., & Chachuat, B. (2021). Plant-wide assessment of high-pressure membrane contactors in natural gas sweetening – Part I: Model development. Separation and Purification Technology, 258(June 2020). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.seppur.2020.117898

Taemeh, A. N., Shariati, A., & Reza, M. (2018). Analysis of energy demand for natural gas sweetening process using a new energy balance technique. 6466. https://doi.org/10.1080/10916466.2018.1447952

Ubani, C. E., & Goodnesss, O. (2016). Natural Gas Utilization and its Effect on Nigeria’s Economic. International Journal of Scientific Engineering and Technology, 5, 532–536.

Zahid, U., Al Rowaili, F. N., Ayodeji, M. K., & Ahmed, U. (2017). Simulation and parametric analysis of CO2 capture from natural gas using diglycolamine. International Journal of Greenhouse Gas Control, 57, 42–51. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijggc.2016.12.016

Additional Files

Published

2022-01-20

Issue

Vol. 18 No. 4 (2021)

Section

Articles

License

Copyright (c) 2022 Nigerian Journal of Technological Development

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.

In accordance with the Copyright Act of 1976, which became effective January 1, 1978, the following statement signed by each author must accompany the manuscript submitted: "I, the undersigned author, transfer all copyright ownership of the manuscript referenced above to the Nigerian Journal of Technological Development, in the event the work is published. I warrant that the article is original, does not infringe upon any copyright or other proprietary right of any third party, is not under consideration by another journal, and has not been published previously. I have reviewed and approve the submitted version of the manuscript and agree to its publication in the Nigerian Journal of Technological Development." A copyright transfer form should be downloaded from the NJTD Website ( http://njtd.com.ng/index.php/njtd). Author(s) will be consulted, whenever possible, regarding republication of material. All authors must have access to the data presented and the authors and sponsor (if applicable) must agree to share original data with the editor if requested.