Maximizing Gas Plant Capacity
SUMMARY
Water entrapment and foaming must be avoided to maximize LPG recovery and minimize downstream unit contaminants. Fundamental process and equipment design principles that cause water entrapment and foaming are reviewed.
TEXT
FCC and coker gas plant absorber/deethaniser (stripper) revamps need to fully utilize column capacity to maximize propylene recovery and capacity. Yet two phenomena – formation of a free-water phase and foaming – continue to limit capacity, reduce propylene recovery and increase LPG product C2 and hydrogen sulphide (H2S) content. Reliance on process models that do not predict where free-water forms or the increase in vapor-liquid loading that accompany it, and the failure to account for foaming systems, are largely to blame…