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[Art Montemayor]

Caq:

There are no “rules of thumb” for losses in TEG units. There are empirical hard facts and realities that one has to confront in order to keep the important and costly TEG losses down as much as possible.

Please read the attached quoted material I have taken from Kohl & Nielsen’s important 5th Edition of “Gas Processing” – a book every process and plant engineer should have on their desk and be thoroughly familiar with.

My personal field experience confirms what Kohl & Nielsen report. I have averaged 0.5-0.6 lb TEG/MMScfd of natural gas treated. However, I have had to be demanding of my unit operators in the manner that they operated and maintained their unit. My experience shows that a lot of TEG is lost in pure and simple spills and leaks – principally through glands, packings, gaskets, and threaded connections. Some of the old field hands in TEG dehydration will tell you quite frankly that glycol is notorious in looking for ways to seep out of a containment system. It will seek out threaded joints and start to slowly seep out and leave hazardous films of liquid on floors and platforms that cause personnel slippages and falls. That is why I do my darnest to convince all who hear me (especially clients) to always insist and demand that all glycol piping joints be 100% welded and to minimize the use of flanges. You will be surprised by how much you can reduce TEG losses if you follow this advice. Just simply following the principles of “good housekeeping” is enough to reduce considerably the losses of TEG.

I hope this experience helps.
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