Amine Gas Treating

Amine gas treating, also known as gas sweetening and acid gas removal, refers to a group of processes that use aqueous solutions of various alkylamines (commonly referred to simply as amines) to remove hydrogen sulfide (H2S) and carbon dioxide (CO2) from gases. It is a common unit process used in refineries, and is also used in petrochemical plants, natural gas processing plants and other industries.

Processes within oil refineries or chemical processing plants that remove hydrogen sulfide and/or mercaptans are commonly referred to as sweetening processes because they result in products which no longer have the sour, foul odors of mercaptans and hydrogen sulfide.

There are many different amines used in gas treating:

  • Monoethanolamine (MEA)
  • Diethanolamine (DEA)
  • Methyldiethanolamine (MDEA)
  • Diisopropanolamine (DIPA)
  • Aminoethoxyethanol (Diglycolamine) (DGA)

The most commonly used amines in industrial plants are the alkanolamines MEA, DEA, and MDEA.

Amines are also used in many oil refineries to remove sour gases from liquid hydrocarbons such as liquified petroleum gas (LPG).

Read more about Amine Gas Treating:  Description of A Typical Amine Treater

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