Mercaptan removal with Sulfinol
Sulfinol* is an integrated, dual approach to acid gas removal and trace sulphur and mercaptans scrubbing. Sulfinol hybrid solvents enable simple all-in-one sour gas treatment, reducing equipment count and solvent rates significantly. With over 240 units licensed to date, Sulfinol has been demonstrated in many applications and all its variations: Sulfinol-D, Sulfinol-M and Sulfinol-X.
Sulfinol reduces contaminants and lowers capex and opex
Gas development projects face growing challenges from increasingly sour resources, tighter sales specifications and stricter environmental emission standards. The Sulfinol process is the leading single-solvent solution available for treating sour gases that contain trace sulphur in the form of mercaptans and other organic species down to the most sulphur specifications.
Crucially, the treating line-up is simpler and it enables all-in-one removal of contaminants, which can help to reduce capital and operating expenditure.
The advantages of mercaptan removal with Sulfinol can include:
- One-step removal of acid gases (hydrogen sulphide (H2S), carbon dioxide (CO2)) and trace organic sulphur (mercaptans, carbonyl sulphide (COS), disulphides, thioethers, etc)
- Faster CO2 and COS removal through enhanced reaction kinetics
- Higher loading capacity, which reduces the solvent circulation rate and facilitates the use of smaller equipment
- Reduced steam requirements compared to chemical solvents owing to its lower solvent circulation rate and heat of reaction
- Low solvent foaming tendency in the presence of heavy hydrocarbons, resulting in improved hydraulic characteristics
- Reduced solvent degradation, so reclamation typically is not required
In addition, all the solvent chemicals can be sourced on the open market. Shell Catalysts & Technologies has a long history of developing gas-treating processes; the first Shell affiliated Sulfinol unit, for example, started up in 1964.
More than 240 Shell facilities and licensees have applied the technology, and it has established a track record of high levels of performance and reliability.
Mercaptan removal with Sulfinol benefits existing operators by resolving foaming and increasing capacity
While uncertainty is a given in the gas processing industry, a consistent challenge is foaming. Foaming, the process by which gas is added to liquid products and creates bubbles, threatens a number of processes that limit the capacity and profitability of gas processing. This added foam limits the output and capacity of the upstream processing unit and can thereby limit the profitability of the entire operation.
Some resource holders, sitting on natural gas fields with increasingly sour feeds, believe that foaming is either unique to their field or unsolvable. has proven to be able to solve for this challenge.
A Sulfinol gas-treating plant was designed in 1966 for a Shell facility in the USA. Solvent swap, first to aqueous methyl diethanoloamine (MDEA)鈥損iperazine and then to Sulfinol, improved deep removal of CO2, lowered solvent circulation, and improved waste management, with no oxazolidone formation.
The feed gas to the absorber has about 17 mol% CO2 whereas the treated gas typically has <50 ppmv CO2 since the changeover to Sulfinol.
Sulfinol processes are streamlined, all-in-one solutions to maximise results.
Enhanced solubility provides quicker mercaptan removal and lower hydrocarbon co-absorption. Shell Catalysts & Technologies has seen firsthand the effects of gas-treating plants switching to the Sulfinol process. Results include deep removal of trace organic sulphur along with the acid gases (H2S/CO2) while lowering equipment count and operating costs.
MACH hydrocracking catalysts: From nano engineering to refinery results
Watch the on-demand webinar to learn how customers are leveraging MACH to unlock competitive advantages and to understand what it could mean for you.
*Sulfinol is registered Shell trademark