Sour gas processing

Sour gas is natural gas that is contaminated with hydrogen sulfide (H2S), carbonyl sulfide (COS), mercaptans (RSH), and other forms of sulfur. The 

Another chemical solvent process that was frequently used is the Giam-marco-Vetrocoke process in which a mixture of aqueous solutions of an alkali metal carbonate, an alkali metal arsenite, and an arsenate is used as the absorption medium. When correct proportions of arsenite to arsenate and pH 

These reactions are some of the processes currently employed in the sour gas processing industry. The selection of the process depends on the inlet composition of the gas, suitability of a particular process (based on the product specification), and the economics of the process. However, work still needs to be done wherein thiols (R-SH) in the feed gas are efficiently removed since they cause odor problems. Currently, considerable amount of thiols are removed in the oil-absorption plants and molecular sieves also have shown some promise for this purpose. A vast amount of literature is available on this topic and a few of them are listed in references [48—55]. 

---

Di-isopropanol-amine (DIPA) is used to remove hydrogen sulfide from natural gas supplies (Goar, 1971). Unfortunately, this compound has been found as a groundwater contaminant at a total concentration of about 1 mM levels near such a sour gas processing plant. Consider an aquifer with the following characteristics ... 

Transport of Di-Isopropanol-Amine (DIPA) in Groundwater from a Sour Gas Processing Plant... 

The most obvious place for membrane systems in this application is in the retrofitting of existing sour gas processing plants. This would increase the capacity and reduce the energy load of the existing system or eliminate the need for expanding the existing plant when wellhead pressure loss or increased acid gas content occurs. 

Highly Sour Gas Processing in a More Sustainable World... 

Cince 1968, sulfur production, principally as an involuntary by-product of sour gas processing in Western Canada and other parts of the world, has exceeded demand. Such market pressures have depressed the price of sulfur from a high of 35 to a current price of 13/ton at producing plants in Alberta. Figure 1 illustrates the current and projected supply and demand situation. 

Ecology Audits. (1975). Atmospheric Emissions Survey of the Sour Gas Processing Industry, EPA-450/3-75-076. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Research Triangle Park, NC. 

Sulfur isotope compositions are employed to assess the effect of industrial activities in pristine environments, particularly in regions where the pollutant sulfur has a distinct d S value compared to that of the environmental receptors. For example, in the province of Alberta, Canada, emissions from sour gas processing plants have d S values 201 higher compared to sulfur isotope compositions of unaffected soils. The distinct isotope composition of the anthropogenic sulfur allows it to be followed as it enters the environment via biogeochemical reactions. 

Sulfolane (tetrahydrothiophene 1,1-dioxide, C4H8O2S) is a nonionizable, organic compound used in the Sulfinol process to remove hydrogen sulfide from natural gas. It is highly water-soluble (290 g/L) with a log Kow of -0.77 and a low Henry s Law constant (4.85 x 10 atm m mol ). It been identified in wetland vegetation near a sour gas processing facility in Alberta, Canada (Headley et al., 2002). 

---