EXPERIMENTAL MEASUREMENTS OF FOAMING TENDENCIES IN AQUEOUS GAS SWEETENING SOLUTIONS CONTAINING MDEA OVER A TEMPERATURE RANGE OF 297–358 K AND A PRESSURE RANGE OF 101–500 KPA

This work presents experimental measurements of foaming tendencies and break times for 50 wt% aqueous solutions of MDEA in contact with nitrogen, methane, and ethane gases from atmospheric pressure to 500 kPa and temperatures from 297 to 358 K. The effect of various contaminants including methanol, HEP (1,4- bis-2-hydroxyethyl piperazine), hexane, and carboxylic acids ranging from formic to dodecanoic acid was investigated. Only those systems containing carboxylic acids heavier than valeric acid exhibited foaming. Foaming tendency in systems containing carboxylic acids was worsened by the addition of methanol and HEP, although the difference was moderate. Foaming was shown to be worse at lower pressure and at higher temperature. Foaming in MDEA systems was shown to be substantially worse than that measured previously by McCarthy and Trebble (1996) for aqueous systems of DEA.

Keywords:

• Amine
• Foaming
• Gas
• MDEA
• Processing
• Sweetening

Acknowledgment

Financial support received from the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada is gratefully acknowledged. The cooperation of the Cochrane Extraction Plant in providing the facility and experimental equipment is deeply appreciated.