PLANT PROCESSES
Submitted by Barb on Thu, 07/28/2005 - 10:51.
Processing and Transportation
This Gas Plant made raw and dangerous natural gas containing hydrogen sulphide (H2S) and various liquids and gases safe for commercial consumption. The plant processed this brew into its component parts and made safe natural gas, elemental sulphur, propane, butane and gasoline among other products.
At the COMPRESSOR BUILDING, built in the late 1930's, inlet knockout drums first removed liquids from the gas. Cooper/Bessamer compressors then compressed the gas and sent it to the Absorber Plant through buried discharge lines.
The ABSORBER PLANT was built in 1933, with a fifth tower added in 1944. As the compressed wet sour gas flowed up through the absorbers, high pressure lean oil absorbed, or stripped, the saturates (butanes, propanes, and pentanes) from the sour gas and became rich oil. The process of removing saturates from the natural gas is referred to as "drying". The combination of rich oil and saturates then went to the Gasoline Plant for distilling.
The stripped dry sour gas flowed overhead from the absorbers to six outlet knockout drums through two demistifiers to a header, and on to the SCRUBBING PLANT, through three underground lines. This scrubbing plant was built in 1935, with additions in 1941 and 1951 (Girbotol Units 1 and 2). Dry sour gas entered near the bottom of the hydrogen sulphide (H2S) scrubbing towers. Lean Monoethanolamine water solution (MEA) stripped the dry H2S as it flowed down the inside of the tower.
A complex system of HEAT EXCHANGERS, REACTIVATORS, and REBOILERS heated the rich MEA releasing H2S which was stripped in the MEA reactivator towers. Acid flowed overhead from the towers to H2S coolers, through a knockout drum and overhead to the SULPHUR PLANT. Lean MEA was returned to the H2S scrubbing towers. The glycol dehydration system was also a "closed loop". Liquids were distilled from the glycol before it was re-used.
Meanwhile, the dry sweet grass flowed through a "chimney tray" into the top trays of the tower, where the water was removed through exposure to glycol. The dry sweet gas flowed from the top of the scrubbing towers through outlet knockout drums to the SALES PIPELINE.
In the SULPHUR PLANT, built in 1952, dry acid gas passed through an inlet knockout drum, into the reactor furnace where the process of elemental sulphur recovery began. From the reactor, the stream passed through wash towers, catalytic convertors, and as liquid sulphur into the Sulphur storage pit. The tail gases were flared.
The GASOLINE PLANT built in phases in 1933 and 1942, involved three separate units: the lean/rich oil distillation system, the PROPANE PLANT, built in 1952, and the Merox Gasoline Sweetening Plant.
In the Lean/Rich Oil System and the No.1 and 2 DISTILLATION PLANTS, rich oil was returned from the Absorption Plant and stripped of the absorption gas. It was then returned as lean oil via the lean oil pump house to the ABSORPTION PLANT to collect more distillates.
The GASOLINE PLANT consisted of lean/rich oil exchangers, preheaters, stills, reabsorbers, condensers and pumps which sent product overhead from the accumulator to the PROPANE PLANT. The liquids from the accumulator went to the refractionator tower as reflux. After passing through exchangers, absorption gasoline, butane and pentane, flowed through the merox cooler to the Merox Plant.
The "overheads" from the GASOLINE PLANT refractionator and the reabsorber flowed to the PROPANE PLANT MEA scrubbing tower to remove the H2S. The propane passed through a caustic scrubber and to the 1952 Propane Compressor Building (east of Propane Plant), where it was compressed and de-ethanized. The ethane and methane plant fuel gas were taken off, refrigerated, and sent to storage "bullets" in the yard.
In the Merox Plant and the Gasoline Plant liquids, absorption gas, flowed to the extractor tower where they were in counter current with a caustic solution. The overheads from the extractor tower flowed to the Merox tower and became natural gasoline, and the bottoms or disulphides were incinerated in the boiler house.
After 1973, the natural gasoline flowed to the NEW LPG FRACTIONATION PLANT for fractionation. Absorption gas entered the plant as absorption gasoline from the Merox Plant. The New LPG Facility incorporated depropanizer and debutinizer units which stripped the absorption gas stream of propane, butane and absorption gasoline storage bullets in the yard. These could be pumped either to a pipeline or to truck loading facilities.
This gas processing plant, with minor modifications and additions, continued in operation until 1985 when Western Decalta replaced it with its Diamond Valley facility east of Hartell. The plant was donated to the provincial government in 1988 for preservation and development as a historic site.
From, Historic Turner Valley, Cradle of Westen Canada's Oil and Gas Industry, pg 19
At the COMPRESSOR BUILDING, built in the late 1930's, inlet knockout drums first removed liquids from the gas. Cooper/Bessamer compressors then compressed the gas and sent it to the Absorber Plant through buried discharge lines.
The ABSORBER PLANT was built in 1933, with a fifth tower added in 1944. As the compressed wet sour gas flowed up through the absorbers, high pressure lean oil absorbed, or stripped, the saturates (butanes, propanes, and pentanes) from the sour gas and became rich oil. The process of removing saturates from the natural gas is referred to as "drying". The combination of rich oil and saturates then went to the Gasoline Plant for distilling.
The stripped dry sour gas flowed overhead from the absorbers to six outlet knockout drums through two demistifiers to a header, and on to the SCRUBBING PLANT, through three underground lines. This scrubbing plant was built in 1935, with additions in 1941 and 1951 (Girbotol Units 1 and 2). Dry sour gas entered near the bottom of the hydrogen sulphide (H2S) scrubbing towers. Lean Monoethanolamine water solution (MEA) stripped the dry H2S as it flowed down the inside of the tower.
A complex system of HEAT EXCHANGERS, REACTIVATORS, and REBOILERS heated the rich MEA releasing H2S which was stripped in the MEA reactivator towers. Acid flowed overhead from the towers to H2S coolers, through a knockout drum and overhead to the SULPHUR PLANT. Lean MEA was returned to the H2S scrubbing towers. The glycol dehydration system was also a "closed loop". Liquids were distilled from the glycol before it was re-used.
Meanwhile, the dry sweet grass flowed through a "chimney tray" into the top trays of the tower, where the water was removed through exposure to glycol. The dry sweet gas flowed from the top of the scrubbing towers through outlet knockout drums to the SALES PIPELINE.
In the SULPHUR PLANT, built in 1952, dry acid gas passed through an inlet knockout drum, into the reactor furnace where the process of elemental sulphur recovery began. From the reactor, the stream passed through wash towers, catalytic convertors, and as liquid sulphur into the Sulphur storage pit. The tail gases were flared.
The GASOLINE PLANT built in phases in 1933 and 1942, involved three separate units: the lean/rich oil distillation system, the PROPANE PLANT, built in 1952, and the Merox Gasoline Sweetening Plant.
In the Lean/Rich Oil System and the No.1 and 2 DISTILLATION PLANTS, rich oil was returned from the Absorption Plant and stripped of the absorption gas. It was then returned as lean oil via the lean oil pump house to the ABSORPTION PLANT to collect more distillates.
The GASOLINE PLANT consisted of lean/rich oil exchangers, preheaters, stills, reabsorbers, condensers and pumps which sent product overhead from the accumulator to the PROPANE PLANT. The liquids from the accumulator went to the refractionator tower as reflux. After passing through exchangers, absorption gasoline, butane and pentane, flowed through the merox cooler to the Merox Plant.
The "overheads" from the GASOLINE PLANT refractionator and the reabsorber flowed to the PROPANE PLANT MEA scrubbing tower to remove the H2S. The propane passed through a caustic scrubber and to the 1952 Propane Compressor Building (east of Propane Plant), where it was compressed and de-ethanized. The ethane and methane plant fuel gas were taken off, refrigerated, and sent to storage "bullets" in the yard.
In the Merox Plant and the Gasoline Plant liquids, absorption gas, flowed to the extractor tower where they were in counter current with a caustic solution. The overheads from the extractor tower flowed to the Merox tower and became natural gasoline, and the bottoms or disulphides were incinerated in the boiler house.
After 1973, the natural gasoline flowed to the NEW LPG FRACTIONATION PLANT for fractionation. Absorption gas entered the plant as absorption gasoline from the Merox Plant. The New LPG Facility incorporated depropanizer and debutinizer units which stripped the absorption gas stream of propane, butane and absorption gasoline storage bullets in the yard. These could be pumped either to a pipeline or to truck loading facilities.
This gas processing plant, with minor modifications and additions, continued in operation until 1985 when Western Decalta replaced it with its Diamond Valley facility east of Hartell. The plant was donated to the provincial government in 1988 for preservation and development as a historic site.
From, Historic Turner Valley, Cradle of Westen Canada's Oil and Gas Industry, pg 19
Sponsored in part by:
Turner Valley Oil Field Society
This project was funded in part by the Alberta Historical Resources
Foundation.
This project has been made possible in part through a grant from the Museums Assistance Program, Department of Canadian Heritage.