Computer-Aided Parametric Sensibility Analysis of an Amine Treatment Unit

Amine treatment units are essential in modern refinery configurations for an efficient reutilization of amine in absorption of sulphur, which could cause acid rain and potential negative environmental impacts if released, after combustion of fuels, to the atmosphere, since on an industrial level the amine which is rich in sulphur compounds needs to be treated in order to re-use it in different processes like: oxidation of mercaptans, hydro treatment and delayed coking units. Improvement of technical performance of amine treatment units in refinery is key for obtaining clean products and efficient sulphur removal, because of this, it is necessary to determine the optimal operating conditions in order to achieve the best possible performances of the units regarding the technical aspect, by the modification of several operative variables employed in every stage. This work had as primary goal to improve the performance of an amine regeneration of a Latin-American refinery, to accomplish this, a simulation and a parametric sensitivity analysis of the unit was made. Simulation was carried out using a robust commercial process simulation software, based on real refinery configurations, through the parametric sensitivity analysis and the implementation of sensibility curves. The behaviour of the process was studied from changes in its operating parameters, as the temperature in the absorption column, reflux ratio, mass flow of steam, Sulphur concentration in rich amine, pressure, among others, in order to upgrade its technical efficiency. Results show that changes in amine composition presents a direct effect on the amount of hydrogen sulphide absorbed, absorption process presents low sensibility to changes in pressure and concentration of hydrogen sulphide in LPG affects the heat of absorption and the temperature.