Alternative metallurgies reduce the cost of amine gas treating units

International audienceProduction facilities, including platforms or FPSO, are becoming more and more complex structures. Reducing the weight of the process units is an important challenge, and represents a huge source of costs savings. IFPEN, PROSERNAT and INDUSTEEL have evaluated two alternative metallurgies with high mechanical properties to reduce the weight of equipment of amine gas treating units (AGRU). Duplex stainless steels are considered as an alternative to more conventional austenitic stainless steel grades. High strength alloy steel ASME SA-533 type E class 2, having an UTS above 90 ksi, can be an alternate to carbon steel ASME SA-516 Gr65 type (UTS 65 ksi). The compatibility of these steel grades with amine service was checked through autoclave corrosion tests in amine solutions. Various experiments were performed in conditions representative of the bottom part of absorber and of upper section of regenerator of AGRU, with variable loadings of CO 2 and H 2 S. Study used different specimens: weight-loss coupons, four-point-bend assemblies, and U-bends. For all these tests, alternative metallurgies proved to behave at least as well as the reference ones generally considered in amine plants with no significant corrosion nor cracking. In addition to experimental tests and presentation of steel properties, the paper describes a case study of AGRU where the mass gain and CAPEX benefits are elaborated for a 75 bar, 4.5 meters diameter absorber, and for a 4.8 meters diameter, low pressure, stripper

Evaluation of the DMX Process for Industrial Pilot Demonstration – Methodology and Results

The SP3 Subproject of the OCTAVIUS EU FP7 project was dedicated to the demonstration of the DMX CO2 capture process, developed by IFP Energies nouvelles (IFPEN) and licensed by PROSERNAT, on the 3.5 MWe equivalent industrial pilot of ENEL at Brindisi. The DMX process is based on the particular property of demixing solvents to form, for specific CO2 loadings and temperature conditions, two immiscible liquid phases. The light phase being almost free of CO2, only the high capacity heavy phase is sent to the stripper, which makes possible energy savings but also requires an adapted process flow scheme and extra equipment. Prior to launch the corresponding retrofit and perform the pilot tests, two conditions were settled. First, a quantitative evaluation of the process must show a significant interest in comparison with the benchmark MEA 30wt.%. To evaluate this first conditions, 24 criteria were considered. Second, an acceptable cost for the retrofit of the existing industrial pilot, determined from a Front End Engineering and Design (FEED) study must be obtained. Most of this paper deals with the evaluation of these two conditions which ended in November 2013 and a small section is dedicated to the FEED study. It is shown that most of the parameters considered for the process evaluation are in good agreement with the initial targets. The proposed evaluation methodology could be used for any new process prior to demonstration. © 2013 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd. Selection and peer-review under responsibility of GHGT

A Positive Impact of an Observational Study on Breastfeeding Rates in Two Neonatal Intensive Care Units

We aimed to investigate whether the participation in an observational study on breastfeeding (Doal) modified breastfeeding outcomes in enrolling neonatal intensive care units (NICUs). This bi-centric before-and-after study included neonates who were admitted during a 4-month period before and a 4-month period after the implementation of Doal. Breastfeeding intention and breastfeeding rates at discharge were compared between the two periods. The association between inclusion in Doal and breastfeeding at discharge was assessed among the infants fulfilling the inclusion criteria of Doal. The present study included 655 neonates. After adjustments, both breastfeeding (aOR 1.21, 95%CI [1.1; 1.4], p = 0.001) and exclusive breastfeeding (aOR 1.8, 95%CI [1.4; 2.3], p < 0.001) at discharge increased in the period after. Breastfeeding intention was higher in one center in the period after (79%) compared to before (59%, p = 0.019). Compared to the period before, neonates who were not included in Doal in the period after had a lower chance to be breastfed at discharge, whereas those included were more frequently exclusively breastfed. The participation in an observational study on breastfeeding was associated with an increase in breastfeeding outcomes in enrolling neonatal intensive care units (NICUs). Patients who are not included deserve attention as they are at risk to be disadvantaged regarding breastfeeding success

COSWEET TM

International audienceCOSWEET TM , developed for the treatment of COS containing natural gases, is based on a combination of deacidification with any alkanolamine solution and COS hydrolysis on a metal oxide based catalyst. Nearly complete COS conversion is reached, even at a relatively low operating temperature. Coupled with a classical sweetening unit, in which an adapted alkanolamine solvent is used in order to optimise the removal of H 2 S, CO 2 , as well as the H 2 S/CO 2 selectivity, the high catalyst activity and the original integration of the scheme secure the COS removal at minimum extra cost. Benefits on capital and operating expenditures of the plant result both from the reduction of the absorption column and solvent flow rate and from the quality of the acid gas which has positive consequences on the design of the sulfur recovery facilities units, including Claus unit. This paper presents the complete development process approach and the results obtained on COS conversion, the model and simulation tool as well as a case study showing the advantages of coupling COSWEET TM to amine based solvent.COSWEET TM , procédé développé pour le traitement du gaz naturel comportant du COS, est une intégration entre un procédé de désacidification à base d'une solution d'alcanolamine et une section catalytique assurant l'hydrolyse du COS à l'aide d'un catalyseur à base d'oxyde métallique. Ce procédé permet d'atteindre des conversions du COS proches de 100 % à basses températures. Lorsque la section catalytique est couplée à une section de désacidification mettant en oeuvre un solvant à base d'une alcanolamine adaptée de telle manière à optimiser l'élimination de l'H 2 S et du CO 2 et également la sélectivité H 2 S/CO 2 , la forte activité du catalyseur et l'intégration originale des deux sections permettent de garantir une spécification sur le COS tout en minimisant les coûts de traitement. Les gains sur les coûts d'investissements et opératoires sont dus non seulement à la réduction de la taille de l'absorbeur et du débit de solvant mais également à la qualité du gaz acide, qui impacte la chaîne soufre en aval, comprenant l'unité Claus

A Long Read project to find optimal technologic combinations for genome assembly and variability, epigenetic marks detection and metagenomic analysis

International audienc

A Long Read project to find optimal technologic combinations for genome assembly and variability, epigenetic marks detection and metagenomic analysis

International audienc