Sweetening and sulfur recovery of sour associated gas and lean acid gas in the middle east
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SPE 172058
Sweetening and Sulfur Recovery of
Sour Associated Gas and Lean Acid Gas
in the Middle East
Peter Hauwert, Ph.D. - Frames
Sour Associated gas
Flaring
• Middle East annually flares 29 BCM of associated gas [1]
• Feed for 20 mtpa LNG plant (12 B$ @ 12 $/MMBTU)
Reserves
• 57% contains <0.1%v H2S [2]
• 32% contains 0.1-1%v H2S Non-produced gas with GOR>1000 scf/bbl, for values available in IHS EDIN
Small SRU
• Relevant for >25% of gas currently not produced
BCM = 109 m3 MT = 109 kg Tscf = 1012 scf = 28 x109 m3
[1] World Bank - Global Gas Flaring Reduction partnership (2007)
[2] Golombok (Shell), E&P 2008 (from IHS EDIN database)
<100 ton/d S: <0.1%, <0.5%,<1% H2S
6.2
Outline Sulfur
recovery process
comparison
Thiopaq O&G Process
Process in desert
environments
Case study
100 kg/d S 1 t/d S
10 t/d S
50 t/d S
200 t/d S
10
100
1,000
10,000
100,000
1,000,000
0.1 1.0 10.0 100.0
H2S
coce
ntr
atio
n in
fe
ed
(%
vol.
)
Feed gas Flow (x106 Nm3/d)
Assessment of RFQs for H2S containing feeds (up to 2012)
(1 x106 Nm3/d ≈ 37 MMSCFD)
100% H2S
10% H2S
1% H2S
0.1% H2S
1000 ppm
100 ppm
10 ppm
Small Scale Sulfur Recovery
SPE172058 • Sweetening and Sulfur Recovery of Associated gas in the Middle East • Peter Hauwert • 4 / 22
Small Scale Sulfur Recovery
Small scale sulfur recovery processes
Aqueous iron Thiopaq O&G
CrystaSulf
Catalytic
oxidation
SPE172058 • Sweetening and Sulfur Recovery of Associated gas in the Middle East • Peter Hauwert • 5 / 22
Comparison commercial small scale SRU Aqueous iron Thiopaq
O&G Crysta
Sulf Catalytic oxidation
Sulfur load (tonne S/d) 1-20 1-100+ 1-20 1-20 (-200)
H2S removal (%) 99.9+ 99.9+ >99.8 90 % /pass
H2S specification (ppmv) < 4 < 4 (> 4 bar)
< 25 (atm)
< 4 4-100
Pressure <30 bar LP / HP HP LP / HP
S quality Landfill Agro / Claus Claus Claus
Operational since ‘70s (LoCat)
‘90s (Sulferox)
1993 (biogas) 2002 (NG)
2005 2005
References > 200 (LC) > 30 (SF)
> 200 (bio) 16 (NG)
< 5
< 5
Operations & HSE - ++ + +
Comments Foam issues Water consumption SO2 needed Only <10% H2S
Adapted from: Lee, GPA Europe 30th Annual Conference, (2013)
SPE172058 • Sweetening and Sulfur Recovery of Associated gas in the Middle East • Peter Hauwert • 7 / 22
• Low pressure gas o 1887 – Winogradsky discovers sulfur oxidizing bacteria
o 1989 – Buisman develops Thiopaq process
o 1993 – Thiopaq pilot plant at wastewater treatment Eerbeek
o 1994 – 1st Commercial unit by Paques (water treatment)
o 2014 - >200 commercial references (biogas)
• High pressure gas o 1997 – Thiopaq O&G tests at 60 bar natural gas (with Shell)
o 2002 – 1st commercial Thiopaq O&G unit
o 2014 – 16 commercial references (natural gas / acid gas / associated gas)
Thiopaq O&G - History
SPE172058 • Sweetening and Sulfur Recovery of Associated gas in the Middle East • Peter Hauwert • 8 / 22
Thiopaq O&G – Process description
Bioreactor
Decanter
Sulfur
Air out
Air in
Flash gas
Feed gas
Product gas
Condensate
NaOH water nutrients
( )
Feed pre-treatment Absorber Regeneration Solid sulfur separation
Bleed
Flash (optional)
Settler
Absorber
H2S + OH- HS- + H2O
CO2 + OH- HCO3-
with carbonate buffer (pH 8.0-9.5)
Regenerator
HS- + ½ O2 Sx + OH-
HCO3- CO2 + OH-
HS- + 2 O2 SO42-
+ H+
2 HS- + 2 O2 S2O32- + H2O
Control
SPE172058 • Sweetening and Sulfur Recovery of Associated gas in the Middle East • Peter Hauwert • 9 / 22
Thiopaq O&G in the Middle East?
? ?
?
? ?
? ?
“It’s hot!!”
“We don’t have water”
“They’re bacTeria” “what do I do
wIth the sulfur?”
“Is it proven?”
(Feedback we have had from clients)
Technical applicability in desert • Ambient conditions
o -5 oC (night, desert) up to 55 oC (summer daytime)
o Black bulb temperatures up to 85 oC
• Remote operation
o Manpower for operation
o Maintenance
• Remote construction
o Transportation difficulties
o Quality control
SPE172058 • Sweetening and Sulfur Recovery of Associated gas in the Middle East • Peter Hauwert • 11 / 22
Applicability – Ambient temperature • Feed gas cooling
o Hydrocarbon dewpoint (30-35 oC)
o Slugs: well-fluids and heavy hydrocarbons
o Stabilizes operation of absorber
• Solvent cooling (40 oC) o Absorption & reaction enthalpy
o Bacteria 35-45 oC optimal
Cooling system (60-100 kW / ton S)
Insulation
SPE172058 • Sweetening and Sulfur Recovery of Associated gas in the Middle East • Peter Hauwert • 12 / 22
Bioreactor
Decanter
Sulfur
Air out
Air in
Flash gas
Feed gas
Product gas
Condensate
NaOH water nutrients
Feed pre-treatment
Absorber RegenerationSolid sulfur separation
Bleed
Flash (optional)
Settler
Cooling system
Applicability – Solar irradiation • Solar irradiation
o 1600-2800 kWh / m2 Black bulb temperature 85 oC
Light / reflective coating
Shading
Insulation of piping
Adapted from SolarGIS © 2014 GeoModel Solar
SPE172058 • Sweetening and Sulfur Recovery of Associated gas in the Middle East • Peter Hauwert • 13 / 22
Thiopaq O&G plant constructed in Egypt:
Kijlstra, Laurence Reid Gas Cond. Conf (2001)
Applicability – Remote operation • Stable operation
o Large buffer solution
o Adaptive bacteria
• Suitable for associated gas
o Unstable feed flow
o Changing concentrations
Plant operation data in Netherlands plant,
courtesy of Paques B.V.
SPE172058 • Sweetening and Sulfur Recovery of Associated gas in the Middle East • Peter Hauwert • 14 / 22
Applicability – Remote operation • Limited operator attention
o Simple control loops
o Minor daily analyses & maintenance
o Robust operation
o Ambient conditions
o Simple start-up & shutdown
• Limited maintenance
o Main equipment static columns & tanks
o Rotating equipment installed spares
SPE172058 • Sweetening and Sulfur Recovery of Associated gas in the Middle East • Peter Hauwert • 15 / 22
Applicability – Remote operation • Consumables
o Potable water quality o Transport by truck or on-site generation (well)
o Caustic
o Nutrients
o No fuel gas needed & limited power consumption
• Case by case CAPEX-OPEX evaluation necessary
SPE172058 • Sweetening and Sulfur Recovery of Associated gas in the Middle East • Peter Hauwert • 16 / 22
Applicability – Remote construction • Modularized construction
o Main vessels road transportable
o Pumps & small equipment skid-mounted
o Controlled manufacturing environment
o Limited site work
• Fast track possible
o No higher alloys (Incoloy / Titanium /Duplex)
o Limited long-lead items
o Standardized design
SPE172058 • Sweetening and Sulfur Recovery of Associated gas in the Middle East • Peter Hauwert • 17 / 22
Case study • Impact of desert environment – case study
o Typical associated gas composition 0.5%v H2S, 5%v CO2
o 550 kNm3/d [20 MMSCFD] (40 oC, 3 bar) 4 tpd S
o Western Europe vs. Middle East
• Design: 165 m3/h solvent circulation (For more details see paper)
o 1 absorber (1.8 m ID x 18.3 m TT) & 3 aerated tanks (4.0 m ID x 8.1 m TT)
• Consumables: 1 m3/d caustic (50wt%) & 17 (ME)-18 (EU) m3/d water
• Power: o Feed cooling (78 kW) & Solvent cooling (158 kW, EU / 226 kW, ME)
o Air blower (110 kW) & Pump duty (35 kW )
SPE172058 • Sweetening and Sulfur Recovery of Associated gas in the Middle East • Peter Hauwert • 18 / 22
Case study – Design Middle East
Western
Europe
SPE172058 • Sweetening and Sulfur Recovery of Associated gas in the Middle East • Peter Hauwert • 19 / 22
Case study – Relative CAPEX
SPE172058 • Sweetening and Sulfur Recovery of Associated gas in the Middle East • Peter Hauwert • 20 / 22
106% 100%
Conclusions • Small-mid scale sulfur recovery processes compared
o Several maturing options available
o Thiopaq O&G technically and commercially attractive
• Thiopaq O&G suitable for sour associated gas treatment o Good performance also at low pressures
o Robust toward variations in feed
o Sweet spot for associated gas
• Thiopaq O&G applicable in desert environment o Limited impact of ambient conditions on overall costs
o Low operator attendance
o Modular construction possible
SPE172058 • Sweetening and Sulfur Recovery of Associated gas in the Middle East • Peter Hauwert • 21 / 22
Slide 23
Frames
Lennard Spit
Paul Mulders
Hein Kandelaar
Lex Rotteveel
Elwin Janssen
Paqell
Gijs van Heeringen
Hans Wijnbelt
Paques
Erik van Zessen
Acknowledgements
Thank you for your attention
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