Evaluation of membrane processes for acid gas treatment

An overview is given of different membrane processes that are used for acid gas removal from natural gas. The main characteristics of selective membranes and membrane contactors for gas separation involving mixtures with acid gases are discussed. The removal of carbon dioxide from gaseous streams and solvents at elevated pressures is relevant for a number of applications. This includes processes like pre-combustion capture, with the main focus on the separation of CO2 and H mixtures, and natural gas treatment, where CO2 is removed from CH. A comparison is made between the CO2 flux obtained for different types of membrane processes. A comparison is made between values for the CO2 flux obtained for the regeneration of absorption liquid diethanolamine (DEA) using a gas-liquid membrane and values for me CO2 reported in the literature for selective membranes. Experimental results for the regeneration of a chemical absorption liquid loaded with CO2 using a gas-liquid membrane contactor are presented. The absorption liquid DEA has been loaded with pure CO2 for three different CO2 pressures. The CO2 flux from the pressurized liquid phase to the gas phase has been determined for different pressures at the gas side of the membrane contactor. Copyright 2012, Society of Petroleum Engineers