PROPER DESIGN SAVES ENERGY FOR

MOLECULAR SIEVE DEHYDRATION SYSTEMS

John Barrow
Ray Veldman
Coastal Chemical Company
The molecular sieve system is a signif
icant energy user in the cryogenic gas
plant. Designing and operating the
system properly can save thousands of
dollars in fuel each year. A poorly
designed energy saving system can
result in poor plant operation, freeze
ups, and lost plant production.
The molecular sieve system is a batch
process. One tower dehydrates while
the other tower is being regenerated by
heating. Energy can be conserved in
several ways.
Molecular sieve is the desiccant usu
ally chosen to remove water vapor ahead
of the natural gas processing cryogenic
plant. The molecular sieves are needed
to dry the gas to less than 0.1 ppmv.
Concentrations of water higher than 0.1
ppmv can cause ice to form and plug
lines in the cryogenic plant. These
plants typically operate from -100 to
-lBOF.
The molecular sieve .system is a signif
icant energy user in the plant. One
bed is adsorbing while the other bed is
heated then cooled. At the end of the
cycle the beds are switched. The bed
which was adsorbing is switched into
heating to remove the water or regen
erate the bed. To effectively remove
the water from the sieve requires
heating the bed higher than 450F (nor
mally 550F) with a slip stream of gas
taken from somewhere in the plant. A
slip stream of dry effluent from the
bed in adsorption is one source of re
generation gas, while residue gas is
another choice. In either case the
HEAT
PRODUCT
e>-<l
FIGURE 1
TURbO EXPANDER P L A 1 ~ T
REGENERATION CONFIGURATIONS
.,:Lo PI,lnl
Residue ...-::-;c"-----,--,,,O-'-.rL-'..-'-'O-=-"-''-'-------..,
FIGURE 2
liASE CASE FOR OPTIHUAnON STUDY
TABLE I
INLET CONDITIONS
FLOw _ .
TEMPERATURE . ..........
PRESSURE .... _...... _. _ .
"'ATER CONTENT .
DEHYOKATOR VESSE1.S
HUMBER of 8E1>S ............
DIAMETER (I. D. ) ......
8EO HEIGHT .
5.S. HEIGHT _._ ...
PRESSURE DROP ...........
CYCLES
------':DSOR8 ..............
HEAr . ..................
COOL. .
REGENERATION CAS
FLOW _ .
PRESSURE .... _... _ _.
HOT GAS INLET ............
MAX IHUH OUTLET . ...........
HOLECUl.AR SI EVE
TyPE .
SiZE _ _ .
WE IGHTI DEHYDRATOR .
50 HHSCPD
100'P
615 psla
90 Ib "zO/mmsc f
2
5.5 ft
12.0 ft.
14. a ft
3,0 psi
8 hr.
5 hr.
3 hr.
itA molecular sieve
1/8"
13,ISO lbs
833
ESL-IE-84-04-145
Proceedings from the Sixth Annual Industrial Energy Technology Conference Volume II, Houston, TX, April 15-18, 1984
slipstream is heated, then used to heat
the sieve bed. From the bed, the gas
is cooled and water is condensed at the
regeneration gas scrubber. From the
regeneration as scrubber the gas is
returned to the molecular sieve inlet
(for dry effluent regeneration) or to
Lhe sales gas line (for residue regen
eration) . (Figs. 1 & 2)
Regeneration requires about 7,200 BTU's
p r pound of water removed. This ex
pense can be eliminated or greatly re
duced in several different ways. Re
ducing the amount of water removed via
molecular sieve, utilizing waste heat
recovery, and operating the system in
an energy efficient manner are, all
way that less energy can be used to
operate a mole ular sieve system.
The compressors whichrepressure the
gas after the cryogenic plant are usu
ally driven by gas turbines or gas
engines. Heat from the xhaust can be
r cov red a d used to heat the regen
eration gas stream. There are many gas
to gas exchangers which can be used in
this service. Utilizing compressor
waste heat essentially eliminates the
energy xpense. However, it can also
present th op rator with some dif
ficult problems. Some plant operators
have been reluctant to build a gas to
as exchanger because a leak would
certainly m an a fire when the high
pressur regener tion gas would be
m'xed with an exhaust gas containing
oxy en. One solution to this
is 0 heat a salt bath with compres
sor exh ust then heat the regeneration
gas with the salt.
Waste heat recovery has resulted in
operating probl ms for some plants when
they run at redu ed rates. If the
waste heat units were designed so that
all compressor exhausts were needed to
maintain both the volume and the tem
perature of the required regeneration
s ream, and one compressor is down due
to low throughput, the operator has the
rollowing choices. He can accept a
ege ration stream flowing at the cor
r ct rate and lower temperature, or
he can c oose rate lower than design
at the carre t tempera ure. Since most
sie e syst ms are designed at minimum
t mperature and minimum regeneration
gas rate, either choice results in poor
r gen rati ns and freeze-ups. An aux
illary burner in the gas to gas ex
changer could solve this problem.
We tested the economics for the fol
lowing ideas using a 50 rnmscfd system
described by Table I.
comp nies design for 8 hour
cycles. When waste heat is not use. 8
hours may not be the best time chos n.
Fig 3 shows he correct cycle time
(proportion 1 to pounds required) a a
function f operating co t and capi al
inv stment. Larger beds require m ie
sieve and a higher cap' tal investment,
but save energy through fewer regenJ
erations. simple quick look t tile
probl m, show' that the slight inCrjaSe
in capit 1 inv stment (Larger beds) is
a good en rgy s ving ide and that e
optimum is 10-12 hour cycles. The n
gineering hous and project engine
should spend the time to decide on he
most en rgy efficient system to bui d.
A glycol unit is an economical way
dehydrate natural gas but will only
dehydrate to a lev 1 of 1 to 7 poun s
of water per mmscf. A glycol unit ses
less energy because the he t of ab
sorption of water into glycol is no as
high as the heat of absorption of ,ter
onto molecular sieve. Putting a glycol
unit an a molecular siev system i
series will allow removal of wat r 0
less than 0.1 ppmv and use less ene gy.
The economics, how ver, are disap
pointing (Table II) as th extra
capital investment takes 5-7 year 0
payout. H wever, a retr fit of a I
cryogenic pL 1 t to an exist'ng older
plant which already has a glycol un t
may utilize the old glycol unit eco
nomically.
Internall insulating the molecular
sieve b ds will s ve 20- 0% of the
required energy. The economics sho a
2 to 3 year pay b ck peria. f th
refractory lining is correctly in
stalled this idea will w rk we l.f
the insulation is installed incor
rectly, wet gas will channel down t e
walls and f eeze ups will be a consfant
problem.
The reg neration system which u es r
sidue gas regener tion can be driv I by
dropping the entire residue gas str am
pressure across a control valve
and forcing a slip stream of gas
thraug the rege eration loop. New r
plants are using a small com ressor to
pump the lips ream and save horesp?wer
in the re ompressors. This idea may be
suitable for retrofit to existing
plants.
Another energy savings idea is he
addition of a third be This woul
allow the regener tion gas to be pre
heated as the bed DaIs, saVing n rgy.
A brief review f the e shows
hat the energy sa ed pays for the in
vestment i. 5 to 7 year.
834
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ESL-IE-84-04-145
Proceedings from the Sixth Annual Industrial Energy Technology Conference Volume II, Houston, TX, April 15-18, 1984
Il
OPTUIUl'1 CYCLE TUIE
GRAPHICAL S O L ~ T I O N 1Z
PRESENT
VALUE
INCREMENTAL
CAPITAL
COST
10
o
o
b 0
~ '"
\0 \2. I ~ \(, 2.0 a
The single largest waste of energy
results froQ operating with cycles UTILIZE WASTE HEAT
times which are too short. We fre
TABLE I I
quently find plants which are operating
USES COfIPRESSOR EXHAUST AS
on 8 hour cycles (which is design) but A HEAT SOURCE
now process significantly less gas, or
gas which has been dehydrated in the
REQUIRES THE INSTALLATION OF
field. The only way to operate at the AN AUXILLARY BURNER
WITHOUT
maximum possible cycle time is to run
PROBLEMS OCCUR WITH
frequent breakthrough tests. These
TURNDOWN (MULTIPLE
tests are simply made, the operators RECOMPRESSORS)
put the bed switching mechanism on
REGENERATION GAS VELOCITY
manual and switch the bed when the
OR TEMPERATURE NUST DROP
plant I:1oisture monitor shows an in WITH THE SHUT DOWN
OF 1 ENGINE
crease in the water content of the gas
leaving the bed. Installing a new
probe before the test assures that
breakthrough will be easily observed
and that the plant will not freeze up.
Sellers of molecular sieves sometimes
do these tests for free. If a break
through test shows that 24 hours on
adsorption is possible and you oper
ate on only 8 hour cycles, the excess
energy bill can be very high.
This paper has presented a brief over
view on how to save energy in a cryo
genic plant. If your next cryogenic
plant cannot use waste heat for the
regeneration gas, the ideas presented
should be evaluated. If waste heat is
used, be sure that the design is
flexible enough to allow good oper
ations at processing rates well below
design.
FIGURE J
CYCLE TIME PRUPORTIONAL
TO SIEVE QUANTITY
835
ESL-IE-84-04-145
Proceedings from the Sixth Annual Industrial Energy Technology Conference Volume II, Houston, TX, April 15-18, 1984