Oil and Gas Sector Amine Reclamation
The Problems Associated with HSAS
And ElectroSep’s® amine reclamation solutions
Heat-stable amine salts (HSAS) are formed when strong acids from gas streams react with amine in the presence of oxygen at high temperatures. These HSAS contaminants bind to the amine solvent, which cannot be removed in the thermal regenerator. This decreases the absorption capacity of the amine solvent.
HSAS problems are particularly serious in the petroleum refining and coal gasification industries. Substantial levels of HSAS’s–especially formate and thiocyanate–are often seen in the systems used to treat gas and liquid streams originating from the various catalytic and thermal processes prevalent in these industries. In the natural gas industry, the acetic and hydrochloric acids used in various well treatment activities, such as acid fracturing, can also lead to the formation of HSAS if they are introduced into the amine unit.
Excessive levels of HSAS can lead to operating problems such as:
- Corrosion
- Foaming
- Loss of scrubbing capacity
- Excessive filtration requirements
- Excessive amine losses
- Amine system control and operability issues
Amine reclamation is a necessary process to maintain a healthy, reliable and predictable system in operations where HSAS are formed during the gas treating process.
ElectroSep’s Reclamation Solutions
ElectroSep has developed proprietary electrodialysis technologies to treat amines contaminated with HSAS. The process is optimized to remove heat stable salts while minimizing losses, chemical use, and water use. This service can be operated by a mobile reclaimer, or installed as an automated skid which continuously reclaims the amine via slip stream.
ElectroSep offers two different reclamation processes:
Two-Loop (TL²®)
The ElectroSep™ TL² process removes both cations and anions from amine solutions. It is ideally suited for sites practicing amine neutralization or sites with high ingress levels of both cations and anions.
Three-Loop (TL³®)
The ElectroSep™ TL³ removes only anions and is often utilized at sites that do not practice neutralization. The TL³® process has the advantage of having negligible amine losses.
Our process is especially impactful for permanent reclamation systems for customers who want optimized systems and consistent cost savings.
The ElectroSep Difference in Amine Reclamation Solutions
Technical Expertise
Knowledge leader with over 120 years of combined experience in our Operations team, with nearly a decade of average industry experience among our field operations team; offering unparalleled experience and expertise to maximize process efficiency and customer return on investment
Custom Designs
ElectroSep’s electrodialysis systems are custom designed, built, and optimized for amine or glycol reclamation. Instead of trying to force off-the-shelf electrodialysis systems to perform in challenging Oil & Gas applications, our solutions are tailored to customers’ needs, and expandable for future demands.
Tunable Reclamation Performance
Unique reclamation process can be easily tuned to optimize HSAS levels to customers’ specifications, resulting in tighter amine unit control and faster return on investment realization.
More Effective and Reliable
Electrodialysis process is actually more effective and reliable than ion exchange in the rate of heat stable salt removal. The electrically driven separation of unwanted anions from the amine solvent is consistent, while the ion exchange adsorption process can be highly sensitive to many contaminants that can exist in aged amine solvents, at times leading to frequent resin bed changes. The use of electricity to remove ions results in significantly less chemical usage, less water consumption, less waste generation and no amine dilution compared to ion exchange systems.
Extremely Safe
All operators have taken extensive safety training, and we have one of the highest safety records in the industry.
Sustainability
ElectroSep’s proprietary process enables industry-leading performance as well as lowest rates of chemical usage and waste generation, resulting in the lowest environmental impact in the industry.
ElectroSep’s In-House Lab
ElectroSep offers lab services with as little as 24–48 hour turnaround for amine analysis, compared to competitors’ 2–4 weeks.
