Glycol Drying System and Method for Glycol Drying

Abstract

Described and represented is a glycol drying system with at least one wet glycol collection container and/or at least one glycol collection line to collect moist glycol, with at least one heating device to heat the moist glycol in the at least one wet glycol collection container and/or in the at least one glycol collection line and with a membrane separation system to separate the water from the heated, moist glycol. In order to reduce the operating costs, without having to accept disproportionate investment costs, it is provided that at least one flash gas vent is provided to remove flash gas driven out when the moist glycol is heated before separating the water in the membrane separation system and in that at least one combustion chamber provided to combust the flash gas and to provide heat for the heating device.

Claims

1-14. (canceled)

15. A glycol drying system with at least one wet glycol collection container and/or at least one glycol collection line to collect moist glycol with at least one heating device to heat the moist glycol in the at least one wet glycol collection container and/or in the at least one glycol collection line, characterised in that a membrane separation system is provided to separate the water from the heated, moist glycol, in that at least one flash gas vent is provided to remove flash gas driven out when the moist glycol is heated before separating the water in the membrane separation system, in that at least one combustion chamber is provided to combust the flash gas and provide heat for the heating device, in that the combustion chamber is provided in a micro gas turbine with exhaust gas heat exchanger and in that the exhaust gas heat exchanger is formed to transfer the heat of the exhaust gas to the moist glycol.

16. The glycol drying system according to claim 15, characterised in that the combustion chamber is assigned to a heat carrier system to heat the moist glycol by means of indirect heat exchange with a heat carrier medium, in particular thermal oil and in that the heat carrier system has heat transfer surfaces to heat the heat carrier medium through the heat released in the combustion chamber.

17. The glycol drying system according to claim 15, characterised in that the flash gas vent is provided on the at least one wet glycol collection container and/or the at least one glycol collection line and/or in that two wet glycol collection containers, in particular for mutually heating the wet glycol, are provided with in each case one flash gas vent.

18. The glycol drying system according to claim 15, characterised in that the membrane separation system is a pervaporation membrane system or vapour permeation membrane system and in that preferably a condenser s provided to condense the water separated in the membrane separation system.

19. A gas drying system, in particular natural gas drying system, with at least one absorber operated with glycol as the absorbent, in particular with at least one gas scrubber operated with glycol as the scrubbing medium, to absorb moisture, contained in the gas, in the glycol, characterised in that a glycol drying system according to claim 15 is provided to remove the moisture from the moist glycol.

20. The gas drying system according to claim 19, characterised in that a glycol return system is provided to reuse the dried glycol as the absorbent in the at least one absorber and in that preferably a closed glycol circuit is provided between the absorber and the membrane separation system.

21. A method for drying glycol, in the case of which moist glycol is heated, in the case of which flash gas is driven out when the glycol is heated, in the case of which the flash gas driven out is removed, in the case of which the removed flash gas is combusted, in the case of which the heat resulting when the flash gas is combusted is used to heat moist glycol and to drive out flash gas and in the case of which water from the moist glycol is separated in a membrane separation system after heating and removing flash gas in the case of which the heat resulting when the flash gas is combusted is used to drive a micro gas turbine and in the case of which the exhaust gas heat of the micro gas turbine is used to indirectly heat the moist glycol.

22. The method according to claim 21, in the case of which the heat resulting when the flash gas is combusted is used to heat a heat carrier medium, in particular thermal oil and in the case of which the thermal oil is used to indirectly heat the moist glycol.

23. The method according to claim 21, in the case of which the moist glycol is heated to a temperature of less than 300 C., preferably less than 200 C., in particular less than 150 C. and/or in the case of which the flash gas is driven out of the moist glycol at an absolute pressure of less than 5 bar, preferably less than 3 bar, in particular less than 2 bar.

24. The method according to claim 21, in the case of which moist glycol is collected and/or heated alternately and successively in at least two wet glycol collection containers and/or in the case of which flash gas is driven out alternately and successively from the moist glycol in at least two wet glycol collection containers and/or is removed from at least two wet glycol collection containers.

25. The method according to claim 21, in the case of which the water is separated from the moist glycol by pervaporation or vapour permeation and in the case of which preferably the separated water is subsequently condensed.

26. A method for drying gas, in particular natural gas, in the case of which moisture from the gas is absorbed in at least one absorber, in particular a gas scrubber, in glycol, in particular scrubbed with glycol, in the case of which the moist glycol from the absorber is dried with a method according to claim 21 and in the case of which the dried glycol, after separating the water from the moist glycol, is reused to absorb moisture from the gas in the at least one absorber.

27. The method according to claim 26, in the case of which the glycol is guided in a glycol circuit between the absorber to absorb water through the glycol, on the one hand, and the membrane separation system to separate the absorbed water from the moist glycol, on the other hand.

Description

[0036] The invention is explained in more detail below on the basis of a single FIGURE representing merely one exemplary embodiment.

[0037] In the single FIGURE, a gas drying system 1 comprising a glycol drying system 2 is represented. A moist gas, in particular natural gas, which has for example been removed from an underground store, can be supplied via a crude gas line 4 to an absorber 3, which is formed in the present case as a scrubber. The gas is brought into close contact with glycol 5, in particular triethylene glycol (TEG) in the absorber 3, whereby the moisture of the gas is taken up by the glycol 5, consequently absorbed. In the absorber 3 represented and in this respect preferred, glycol 5 is sprayed in a finely distributed manner into the gas flowing through the absorber 3. The dried gas leaves the represented absorber at its head via a clean gas line 6.

[0038] An absorber circuit can be assigned to the absorber, which is not represented. Glycol is removed from the sump of the absorber 3 via a pump of the absorber circuit and sprayed again via nozzles in the absorber 3. A part of the glycol can be removed from this absorber circuit or from the sump as moist glycol 7 in order to dry the moist glycol 7. However, a corresponding absorber circuit can also be dispensed with and the moist glycol 7 can be supplied directly from the sump of the absorber 3 to the glycol drying system 2 without being sprayed in the absorber 3 again.

[0039] The glycol drying system 2 represented and in this respect preferred has two wet glycol collection containers 8 in which the moist glycol 7 is alternately collected from the absorber 3. While the moist glycol 7 is intermediately stored in a wet glycol collection container 8, the moist glycol 7 is heated via a heat exchanger 9 and namely in this case for instance to a temperature of 120 C. The pressure in the wet glycol collection container 8 corresponds here, if necessary, approximately to the ambient pressure and in the present case is less than 1.5 bar absolute. In this case, flash gas 10 escapes from the moist glycol 7, which in the present case is natural gas dissolved in the moist glycol 7 in the absorber 3. The flash gas 10 is removed at the head of the corresponding wet glycol collection container 8 via a flash gas vent 11 and supplied to a heating device 12 in the form of a thermal oil system. The flash gas 10 is combusted in a combustion chamber 13 in the heating device 12 formed as a thermal oil system and heats a thermal oil 14 here which then provides its heat via the heat exchanger 9 in the wet glycol collection container 8 to the moist glycol 7. If the wet glycol collection container 8 is filled and the moist glycol 7, on the one hand, is heated and, on the other hand, degassed, further moist glycol 7 is directed from the absorber 3 into the other wet glycol collection container 8 in which the moist glycol 7 is heated and degassed as described. The flash gas 10 resulting here is also removed at the head of the wet glycol collection container 8 via a flash gas vent 11 and supplied to a heating device 12 to heat a wet glycol collection container 8. In the present case, a heating device 12 in the form of a thermal oil system is assigned to each wet glycol collection container 8 in order to generate a corresponding redundancy. Essentially however, a single heating device 12 could also be enough.

[0040] The moist glycol 7 is supplied to a membrane separation system 15 from the wet glycol collection container 8 in each case filled with heated and degassed glycol 7, in which an underpressure is pulled using the vacuum pump 16 on the permeate side in the glycol drying system 2 represented and in this respect preferred. The moisture of the moist glycol 7 passes the membrane and is discharged in vapour form on the permeate side after passing through the membrane, preferably organic membrane, for instance based on cellulose. Therefore, the method is also designated as pervaporation or also vapour permeation. The water vapour 17 accruing in the membrane separation system 15 is condensed in a condenser 18 arranged downstream into at least substantially pure water 19 which is intermediately stored in a storage container 20 and which can accordingly be used in other processes.

[0041] The retentate from the membrane separation system 15 accrues as dried glycol 5, and a residual moisture content can still be present in the dried glycol 5. The dried glycol 5 is intermediately stored in a dry glycol collection container 21 and is supplied from there again to the absorber 3 to scrub moisture out of the gas passing the absorber 3. The glycol 5, 7 is therefore guided in the gas drying system in a closed glycol circuit 22 between the absorber 3, the wet glycol collection containers 8 and the membrane separation system 15 and, if required, from the dry glycol collection container 21, with an exchange of glycol 5, 7 being possible from time to time, if required.

LIST OF REFERENCE NUMERALS

[0042] 1 gas drying system

[0043] 2 glycol drying system

[0044] 3 absorber

[0045] 4 crude gas line

[0046] 5 dried glycol

[0047] 6 clean gas line

[0048] 7 moist glycol

[0049] 8 wet glycol collection container

[0050] 9 heat exchanger

[0051] 10 flash gas

[0052] 11 flash gas vent

[0053] 12 heating device

[0054] 13 combustion chamber

[0055] 14 thermal oil

[0056] 15 membrane separation system

[0057] 16 vacuum pump

[0058] 17 water vapour

[0059] 18 condenser

[0060] 19 water

[0061] 20 storage container

[0062] 21 dry glycol collection container

[0063] 22 glycol circuit