Simulation of an acid gas removal unit using a DGA and MDEA blend instead of a single amine

Most of the industrial acid gas removal (AGR) units employ chemical absorption process for the removal of acid gases from the natural gas. In this study, two gas processing plants operational in Saudi Arabia have been selected where two different amines n1amely, diglycolamine (DGA) and monoethanol amine (MDEA) are used to achieve the sweet gas purity with less than 4 ppm of H₂S. This study performed a feasibility simulation of AGR unit by utilizing the amine blend (DGA+MDEA) for both plants instead of a single amine. The study used a commercial process simulator to analyze the impact of process variables such as amine circulation rate, amine strength, lean amine temperature, regenerator inlet temperature, and absorber and regenerator pressure on the process performance. The results reveal that when the MDEA (0-15 wt. %) is added to DGA, marginal energy savings can be achieved. However, significant operational energy savings can be made when the DGA (0-15 wt. %) is blended with MDEA being the main amine.