An indirect method to evaluate the performance of the activated carbon filters in the amine sweetening process

Abstract

In order to maintain the quality of amine circulation in the gas-sweetening process, activated carbon filters are used to remove hydrocarbons, degradation products, and antifoam from amine circulation. In this study, a new indirect gas chromatography analysis is proposed to evaluate saturation point of the activated carbon filters. In this method, the measured compositions of gas-phase hydrocarbons in equilibrium with amine solution samples (from the inlet and the outlet of the filter) were applied to estimate hydrocarbon compositions in amine solution by a thermodynamic model. The proposed method described in this study is believed to be a simple and viable approach to evaluate the performance of the activated carbon filters in the amine scrubbing plants. ARTICLE HISTORY