Knockout gases

M. Enserink and R. Stone, Questions swirl over knockout gas used in hostage crisis. Science, 2002,298,1150-1151. 

Motor-driven, multistage reciprocating compressors have reportedly been the most popular choice for aeroderivatives. Motor-driven, oil-fiooded screw compressors are also used in some cases. High horsepower, multistage centrifugal compressors, similar to those used at many pipeline compressor stations, may be required for the newer heavy-duty units if the distribution pipeline pressure is insufficient (see Pipelines). Gas turbines have more stringent fuel-gas specifications in terms of cleanliness than do gas-fired boilers. Thus oil- and water-knockout systems, coalescing filters, and fine-mesh filters are used. 

Filtration and water-knockout systems are used to clean up the gas before it enters a compressor. Cooling systems are sometimes required to maintain compressor discharge temperatures below 54°C to avoid damage to the pipeline s protective coatings. Automated compressor stations are typically staffed by maintenance and repair personnel eight hours per day, five days per week. Other stations are staffed on a 24-hour basis because personnel must start, stop, and regulate compressors in response to orders from the dispatch office. 

At the central platform, water and hydrocarbon liquids are first removed in knockout drums. Then saturated natural gas, free of any liquid droplets, enters the twin expanders. The gas is cooled below its dewpoint, allowing heavy hydrocarbon components and water vapor to condense in the discharge stream. Turboexpanders were chosen for two main reasons They are more compact than competing methods of controlling the dewpoint and their operating costs are typically lower than those of many alternatives. 

Fuel systems can cause many problems, and fuel nozzles are especially susceptible to trouble. A gaseous fuel system consists of fuel filters, regulators, and gauges. Fuel is injected at a pressure of about 60 psi (4 Bar) above the compressor discharge pressure for which a gas compression system is needed. Knockout drums or centrifuges are recommended, and should be implemented to ensure no liquid carry-overs in the gaseous system. 

The fuel. skid. This could contain a gas compressor if the fuel gas pressure is low and a knockout drum for any liquid contamination that the gas may have. The requirement of fuel gas pressure is that it should be operated at a minimum of 50-70 psi (3.5-4.83 Bar) above the compressor discharge pressure. The compressor and its motor drive fall under the drive level hierarchy. In the case of liquid fuels, the skid may also contain a fuel treatment plant, which would have centrifuges, electrostatic precipitators, fuel additive pumps, and other equipment. These could be directly controlled by the D-CS system, which would then report its readiness to the gas turbine controller. 

Fuel System. An adequate knockout vessel should be provided for natural gas entering the plant as fuel or feed gas. Hydrocarbon liquids can and will enter the fuel system otherwise. Double-pressure letdown plus heating to preclude hydrates is also typically specified. 

In a typical gas oil design, the lighter products overhead from the quench tower/primary fractionator are compressed to 210 psi, and cooled to about 100°F. Some Q plus material is recovered from the compressor knockout drums. The gases are ethanolamine and caustic washed to remove acid gases sulfur compounds and carbon dioxide, and then desiccant dried to remove last traces of water. This is to prevent ice and hydrate formation in the low temperamre section downstream. 

A PR valve is not required for protection against fire on any vessel which normally contains little or no liquid, since failure of the shell from overheating would occur even if a PR valve where provided. Examples are fuel gas knockout drums and compressor suction knockout drums. (Note Some local codes require pressure relief valve protection for "dry drum" situations.)... 

In adxlition to handling PR valve releases, the flare header is also used to route certain other emergency releases to the blowdown drum. These include drainage from fuel gas, compressor and absorber knockout drums. 

Consideration of All Releases into the System - All releases tied into the closed system must be considered. In addition to PR valve discharges, these may include fuel gas compressor and absorber knockout drum drainage, vapors vented from water disengaging drums, feed diversion streams, closed drainage from equipment, vapor blowdowns and liquid pulldowns. 

Liquid loads are considered from all safety valves that discharge as a result of a single contingency, plus in each case an allowance for knockout drum liquids (fuel gas knockout drums, absorber overhead knockout drums, and compressor suction and interstage knockout drums) equal to the inventory of all drums which discharge to the blowdown drum, at their LHA point. 

Jigging is produced by a gas oscillation generator, which could be either mechanical or electromagnetic, separated from the bottom of the jigged section first by a solids knockout hopper and then by a thermal break, which is essentially a packed-bed heat regenerator. To protect further the gas oscillation generator from hot gases, a cooler is interposed between it and the thermal break. 

Flares are sometimes used after knockout drums. The objective of a flare is to burn the combustible or toxic gas to produce combustion products that are neither toxic nor combustible. The diameter of the flare must be suitable to maintain a stable flame and to prevent a blowout (when vapor velocities are greater than 20% of the sonic velocity). 

Any stream containing liquid or solid or both should not be vented directly to the environment, which means essentially any relief vent stream since it is unusual that the stream would be fully as a gas. The liquid and/or solid should be collected and contained for later treatment. Typical collection and separation methods include knockout drums and cyclones. If the remaining gas stream contains toxic or flammable substances, it should also be treated or flared. 

Three-phase separators, commonly called freewater knockouts, are used to separate and remove any free water phase that may be present. Because flow enters the three-phase separator either directly from a producing wdl, or a separator operating at a higher pressure, the vessel must be designed to separate gas that flashes from the liquid as wdl as oil and water. 

In a two-part series. Zeme discusses the importance of good separator hydraulics. A poor hydraulic design can make a good separation scheme ineffective. Zemel provides the methods and procedures to run a tracer test to identify short-circuiting, stagnant-flow regions, and shear forces. Analysis of the residence-time distribution curve that results is presented. Actual tests run on separators indicate that the most successful separator was the sequential dispersed-gas flotation cell, which closely followed the tanks-in-serie< model. This is contrasted with the poor performance of a conventional 2, 006-hbl [3 0-ms] wash tank The tracer responses of a pressurized flotation cell, a 15j000-bbl [2400 mJj wash tank, and a horizontal free-water knockout with and without baffles are also discussed. 

Normal vertical knockout drums are designed for a K value of about 0.20 to 0.25. If we are installing a KO drum ahead of a reciprocating compressor—and they really hate liquids in their feed—a K value of 0.14 might be selected. If we really do not care very much about entrainment, a K value of 0.4 might be selected. An example of this would be venting waste gas to the flare from a sour-water stripper reflux drum. 

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