1. Introduction
2. Hydrate Formation and Inhibition in Offshore Natural Gas Processing
3. MEG Loops in Offshore Natural Gas Fields
4. Thermodynamics of Glycol Systems
5. MRU Processes
5.1. Traditional Process (TP)
5.2. Full-Stream Process
5.3. Slip-Stream Process (SS)
6. Energy consumption and CO2 Emission of MRU Processes
6.1. MRU Process Assumptions
6.1.1. Power, Heating and Cooling Resources Available to Offshore MRUs
6.2. TP Implementation
6.3. FS Implementation
6.4. SS Implementation
6.5. Heat, Power, Utility Consumptions and CO2 Emissions Results
7. Thermodynamic Efficiency of Steady State Operations of MRUs
7.1. Thermodynamic Efficiency of Binary Distillation Column
7.1.1. Determination of Steady-State Operation Reflux Ratio and Corresponding Heat Duties
7.1.2. Minimum Power Required for Steady-State Separation at Constant T & P
7.1.3. Actual Equivalent Power Consumption of a Steady-State Binary Distillation Column via the Method of Carnot Equivalent Cycles
7.1.4. Thermodynamic Efficiency of a Steady-State Binary Distillation Column
7.2. Multicomponent Distillation Column with Specified Propylene-Propane Sharp Cut
7.2.1. Design of Steady-State Multicomponent Distillation: Determination of Size, Reflux Ratio, Feed Location and Heat Duties
7.2.2. Minimum Power Required for Steady-State Propylene-Propane Separation
7.2.3. Actual Equivalent Power Consumption of Steady-State Propylene-Propane Distillation Column via the Method of Carnot Equivalent Cycles
7.2.4. Thermodynamic Efficiency of a Steady-State Propylene-Propane Distillation Column
7.3. Thermodynamic Efficiency of a Steady-State Process with Several Power Consuming Operations
8. Exergy Analysis of Chemical Processes
8.1. Steady-State Chemical Processes
9. Exergy Analysis of MRU Processes in Offshore Platforms
9.1. RER Approach #1
9.2. RER Approach #2
9.3. Results of Exergy Analysis of MRUs
9.4. Consistency Cross-Check of Exergy Analysis
10. Influence of Design Parameters on Exergy Efficiencies of MRU Processes
11. Energy Performance versus Exergy Performance of MRU Processes
11.1. Modification of MRU Processes for Better Exergy Usage under Constant Energy Usage
12. Concluding Remarks
About the Author: Alexandre M. Teixeira: He is a chemical engineer, holds a M.Sc. degree with emphasis in oil and gas field, is currently a D.Sc. student and works in a project in a partnership with Petrobras. He has experience in the field of process engineering, focusing his research on flow assurance in offshore platforms, energy efficiency and natural gas processing. He gained an outstanding scholar award (undergraduate student) in 2012 due to his academic performance and B. Sc. with honors (cum laude), and in 2014 won the best M.Sc. thesis award from Escola de Química of the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro.
Lara de O. Arinelli: She is graduated in Chemical Engineering by the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, and holds a M.Sc. degree with emphasis in process engineering, specifically in the oil and gas field. She is currently a D.Sc. student, while working in parallel in a research project with Petrobras. The main theme of her thesis is natural gas processing, focusing on the development of unit operation extensions of membranes and supersonic separation for simulation purposes. Lara gained an outstanding scholar award (undergraduate student) in 2012 due to her academic performance, B.Sc. degree with honors (cum laude) and in 2015 won the best M.Sc. thesis award from Escola de Química of the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro. Prof. Dr. José Luiz de Medeiros He graduated in Chemical Engineering at Federal University of Rio de Janeiro (1980), Brazil. He earned MSc (1982) and DSc (1990) Chemical Engineering degrees from the same institution. He is currently an Assistant Professor in the Department of Chemical Engineering at Federal University of Rio de Janeiro since 1990. He has experience in several sectors of chemical engineering with emphasis in Petroleum, Natural Gas and Petrochemistry, with several published works in the following research lines: Applied Thermodynamics, Separation Processes, Process Identification & Optimization, Statistical & Mathematical Methods. His fields of study concentrate on Compositional Modeling, Hydro-treatment & Hydrocracking of Oil Fractions, Compressible & Incompressible Flows and Associate Separation Technologies, Flow Assurance in Natural Gas Systems, Pipeline Network Modeling for Natural Gas & Oil Transportation, Leak Detection in Compressible & Incompressible Pipeline Networks, Chemical Sequestration of CO2, Capture of CO2 & H2S from Natural Gas via Membrane Permeation and Technologies of Contact with Aqueous Ethanolamines.
Prof. Dr. Ofélia de Queiroz Fernandes Araújo She holds a PhD (1987) and MSc (1984) degrees in Chemical Engineering from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (USA), and BSc in Chemical Engineering from the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro (1981), Brazil. Worked at NATRON SA (1987-198) and OXITENO SA (1989-1993) in process simulation and control engineering. Joined the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, in 1993, in the Chemical Engineering Department, where she is currently Associate Professor. Her research interests are process and environmental engineering, with special focus in natural gas processing, and CO2 separation and utilization, and green engineering. She was head of two graduate programs - Technology of Chemical and Biochemical Processes (2007-2010) and Environmental Engineering (2014-2015).