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Hydrate formation in refineries

Hydrate formation in refineries

Hydrate formation in refineries

(OP)
Hello
Have anyone heard of hydrate formation in refinery fuel gas? I assume that as the crude oil leaves the desalter, it is then dehydrated before being sent to distillation column. If there are any water present in the fuel gas exiting the DU it is then dehydrated or dried. Is my understanding correct?
Is Methanol, glycol injection is better solution for dehydrating if yes, how does it happen?

Thanks

RE: Hydrate formation in refineries

I have never seen nor heard of any refineries that dehydrate the overhead gas product from their atmospheric distillations units. That gas joins the offgases from various other units within the refinery and the combined gases are then processed in the refinery "gas plant" (or gas plants) for removal and recovery of propane, butanes, and pentanes and heavier.

Nor have I ever heard of hydrates being formed in a refinery fuel gas.

Milton Beychok
(Visit me at www.air-dispersion.com)
.

RE: Hydrate formation in refineries

The only refinery units where I've ever heard of drying fuel gas type streams or concerns about hydrate formation are cryogenic gas plants.

RE: Hydrate formation in refineries

The Desalter is itself a dehydrator. Operating conditions and the applied electrical field are such that the quantity of water leaving the Desalter is minimized.
Doug

RE: Hydrate formation in refineries

Crude oil atmospheric distillation units almost universally have two or three sidecut strippers into which live stripping steam is injected. So the distillation column itself (regardless of the oil feed desalter) has a good deal of water vapor traveling up to the overhead condenser.

Milton Beychok
(Visit me at www.air-dispersion.com)
.

RE: Hydrate formation in refineries

The desalter doesn't remove all the water that is in solution with the oil.  Water can stay with the lighter ends and if the gas is processed, there maybe the right combination of components to make hydrates.  Methanol and ethylene glycol do not remove water, they keep any water that is in the liquid phase from forming hydrates or freezing.  TEG and mol sieves (silica gels too) actually remove water from the gas phase.

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