Optimisation of Glycol Loop Design and Operation

Glycol, usually monoethylene glycol (MEG), combined with corrosion inhibiting chemicals is often the preferred solution for hydrate inhibition and corrosion mitigation for long distance gas condensate pipelines transporting unprocessed well stream. The gl ycol is often circulated in a closed loop with integrated regeneration. The complexity and the requirements for control of the loop increase with increased production of formation water with dissolved salts. It is essential not only to predict the risk o f scaling and precipitation, but also to be able to control the precipitation effectively in order to avoid process up-sets and ensure production regularity. Chemicals that are added to solve specific problems, e.g. corrosion, may generate problems in oth er parts of the loop. Recommended practices are needed for testing effects of single chemicals as well as their compatibility with each other. The project will focus on the prediction of scale and particle formation in glycol systems. A basis for improve d design and management of glycol regeneration plants will be built through improved understanding of the kinetics of dissolution and precipitation reactions. The project will have 2 parts: Part 1 will concentrate on the thermodynamics and kinetics of pr ecipitation in order to provide better models that can predict not only precipitation risk but also the nature of the precipitate. Effective utilisation of process chemicals will also be addressed. In part 2 a system simulator will be developed. The simul ator will provide for a holistic view of the process, by combining mathematical models of the important parts of the MEG loop. The knowledge gained in part 1 will be utilized in this work.