Oxygenate Removal Systems
Headquartered in Houston, Texas
Gas liquid pipelines typically have a maximum oxygenate specification, and generally the culprit is methanol. Methanol is a common means of hydrate inhibition in many if not most of the North American gathering systems where it performs well and predictably to keep these lines flowing even in the coldest conditions. However…
Natural gas processing plants do an excellent job of not only recovering naturally occurring gas liquids, (ethane, propane, etc…) but also the injected methanol! Azota has aided its customers in removing this methanol from the NGL product streams with our own Oxygenate Removal Systems in an efficient and cost effective manner. With oxygenate penalties exceeding $1.00 per barrel these systems can pay for themselves quickly.
Azota offers two ways of dealing with methanol in the midstream; the first approach is to remove the methanol before it enters the cryogenic plant, and the second is to remove break-through methanol that ends up in the liquid product stream. In the industry these systems are referred to as Methanol Removal Systems but the more generic term is Oxygenate Removal Systems.
Front-End Oxygenate Removal Systems
In the colder climates gathering systems frequently struggle with hydrate formation, especially in the winter season. These systems, even with TEG systems, are not able to reduce water levels to the extent needed to confront the sub-zero temperatures that they experience. Accordingly, large quantities of methanol are injected upstream of the processing plants.
Azota has taken a different approach to this issue. We have designed simple, operator-friendly wellhead and compressor station dehydration systems that allow sub-zero water dew points to be easily and economically achieved. Using the same technology, we can also provide systems that remove methanol before the molecular sieve system at the plant.
NGL Product Oxygenate Removal Systems
Existing plants in the northern states, Canada, and other cold environments are currently experiencing high methanol levels (above 200 ppm) in their NGL product stream. This may be due to “breakthrough” of the molecular sieve beds, inlet liquid stabilizer product contamination or other sources of methanol contamination.
Azota offers simple, non-consumable water and/or methanol removal systems for this service. Our oxygenate removal systems are a single module and easily installed with minimum tie-ins. The advantage of this method is that it can deal with any methanol problems that may occur upstream of the NGL plant where the operator may have little control.
Ask us about our ORS technology. Compact modularization, low utilities, and the simultaneous removal of water all make this an attractive addition to the modern midstream processing industry.