Investigation on the performance of amine-based absorption and its blend for the removal of high CO2 concentration using HYSYS

Removal of CO2 from natural gas is currently a global issue. Apart from meeting the customer's product specifications; it is also a measure for reducing the damage to pipeline and equipment system. Those problems arised when the CO2 removed is insufficient or still not enough to reduce the effect of CO2 from becoming acidic and corrosive because it forms carbonic acid by reacting with water vapour. This research aims to determine the optimum ratio of diisopropanolamine (DIPA) and sulfolane for the removal of high CO2 concentration and optimizing the performance of amine based absorption and its blend for the removal of high CO2 concentration by using different values of operating conditions. A standard base case of typical CO2 removal process was prepared first using Aspen HYSYS V8.8 process simulation tool. Then, the optimization of the conditions was done using Response Surface Methodology (RSM) analysis by controlling and modifying the parameters and conditions to improve process performance. The tool used was Minitab 18. To conclude the analysis, it can be said that the optimum ratio of DIPA and sulfolane is nearing 1:1, although the result shows that DIPA has a slightly bigger role in the removal of CO2 as compared to sulfolane. For the effects of temperature and pressure, the analysis states that the temperature effect is greater than pressure. The mole fraction of CO2 in sweet gas is lowest (less than 0.0005) at temperature approximately between 33℃ and 49℃ and pressure of 6780 kPa to 7300 kPa.