Scrub success
11 May 2005
BASF has started up its first plant in Thailand to remove carbon dioxide from natural gas using an activated methyldiethanolamine process in Thailand.
BASF has started up its first plant in Thailand to remove carbon dioxide from natural gas using an activated methyldiethanolamine (aMDEA) process in Thailand. Located north of Bangkok in Map Ta Phud, the plant is owned and operated by the PTT Company, and was built in collaboration with Foster Wheeler.
The plant strips the CO2 from the natural gas feed, then splits the hydrocarbon fraction into pure methane and a higher-value hydrocarbon steam, containing products such as ethane and propane.
The CO2 is removed with an amine-based solvent, which is regenerated by warming it up.
‘With aMDEA less energy is needed for thermal regeneration than with other processes,’ explains Mark Claesen, who heads the gas treatment division of BASF’s Asian Intermediates business. ‘As a result, our customers can raise processing efficiency significantly.’
