Natural Gas Adsorber Regeneration Using Dryer-Assisted Closed Loop
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing natural gas purification methods using adsorbers face challenges with closed loop regeneration due to excessive purge requirements for removing contaminants like water, which leads to inefficiencies and energy losses, especially when dealing with variations in contaminant levels.
Innovation Solution
A two-stage regeneration process utilizing a dryer to remove water during the heating stage and regenerating the adsorber using a closed loop system, where the regeneration gas is circulated through a dryer to desorb water and minimize energy losses by reducing the need for make-up gas compression.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If closed loop regeneration is used to remove water and carbon dioxide, then purification effectiveness is improved, but excessive purge amounts are required leading to energy losses
Solution Approach 1:
The regeneration process is divided into two distinct stages: a heating stage where carbon dioxide is removed, and a cooling stage where water is removed. This segmentation allows each stage to be optimized for its specific contaminant, preventing the excessive purge requirements that occur when using a single-stage approach for multiple contaminants.
Solution Approach 2:
The system dynamically switches between heating and cooling stages based on the contaminant removal requirements. The regeneration process adapts its thermal conditions to match the specific purification needs at different stages, allowing efficient removal of different contaminants without requiring excessive purge amounts throughout the entire process.
2Reliability
If closed loop regeneration is used to remove water and carbon dioxide, then purification effectiveness is improved, but the system lacks flexibility for variations in contaminant levels
Solution Approach 1:
The system dynamically adjusts its operation between heating and cooling stages based on real-time contaminant levels in the natural gas feed. This dynamic switching provides flexibility to handle variations in contaminant concentrations while maintaining effective purification through the closed loop regeneration process.
Solution Approach 2:
The regeneration process utilizes changes in temperature parameters to handle different contaminant levels. By switching between heating (for carbon dioxide removal) and cooling (for water removal) stages, the system can adapt to varying contaminant conditions without requiring excessive purge amounts, thus maintaining both purification effectiveness and flexibility.
3Ease of operation
If open loop regeneration is used to remove multiple impurities, then ease of operation is improved, but excessive purge amounts are required leading to product losses
Solution Approach 1:
The regeneration process is segmented into dedicated heating and cooling stages, each targeting specific contaminants. This segmentation allows the system to maintain operational simplicity while reducing the need for excessive purge amounts, thereby minimizing product losses compared to single-stage approaches.
Solution Approach 2:
The closed loop regeneration system recovers and reuses the regeneration gas throughout the process, minimizing the need to discard and replace with fresh feed gas. This recovery approach reduces product losses while maintaining ease of operation through automated stage switching.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
This approach minimizes product and energy losses by effectively removing water and other impurities like carbon dioxide and hydrogen sulfide, allowing for flexible contaminant handling and reducing the amount of regeneration gas needed, thus optimizing the regeneration process.
Implementation Method 1
Natural gas, which can be obtained from off-shore sources, may be purified by adsorption with a molecular sieve
Implementation Method 2
passing the regeneration gas to a dryer for removing water
Implementation Method 3
heating the regeneration gas with a heater after exiting the dryer
Implementation Method 4
cooling the second adsorber by circulating the regeneration gas bypassing the heater
Data Source
AI summary
One exemplary embodiment can be a process for purifying a natural gas by using first and second adsorbers. The process may include passing a feed including the natural gas through the first adsorber to obtain a purified natural gas product, regenerating the second adsorber in a heating stage, and regenerating the second adsorber in a cooling stage. The heating stage may include separating a portion of the feed comprised in a regeneration gas, passing the regeneration gas to a dryer for removing water, heating the regeneration gas with a heater after exiting the dryer, and passing the regeneration gas to the second adsorber to regenerate the second adsorber. The cooling stage may include expelling at initiation of cooling at least a part of a fluid present in the second adsorber to the dryer to desorb water from a molecular sieve in the dryer, and cooling the second adsorber by circulating the regeneration gas bypassing the heater.