Accurata Inc.
March 29, 2016
Executive Summary
The SlipStream® GTS-DeHy system is a proprietary technology owned by Spartan Controls. It collects the still column vented gasses on glycol dehydrators and uses it for fuel. The system utilizes a main burner and an auxiliary burner mounted in the main burner exhaust stack. The main burner is supplemented using primary fuel gas when the still column vent gas is unavailable. Two field trials were undertaken to demonstrate the operation of the system. This report documents the findings at one of the installations. The second installation continues to operate but the site suffers upsets that currently affect the data quality so its performance evaluation was not included in this report.
Field operating data demonstrates that the heat requirements of the dehydrator are met using the normally vented still column gas more than 98% of the time. We estimated CO2e reduction of approximately 90 tonnes/annum based on the data collected in February 2016. This estimate is probably not representative since many variables influence the still column vent rates. Based on the same sample data in February 2016 and an assumed natural gas price of $1.60/GJ we estimated a cost recovery of 108 years. This time period may be reduced to 44 years by applying carbon offset credits. Allowing for any penalties that might be applied by regulatory noncompliance would further shorten the cost recovery period. The health costs associated with exposure are also not included in the cost recovery estimate.
Economies of scale should reduce the installation cost and improve the economics. Independent field testing performed by Maxxam Analytics proved that destruction efficiency of the benzene by combustion of the still column vent gas is greater than 99.9%. This system can help Producers maintain a safe work environment and offer a solution for the virtual elimination of vented still column gasses. This feature is the main purpose of the technology.
The system has proven that it is a reliable technology that can be used by Operators to virtually eliminate the BTEX vented emissions from Glycol dehydrators. The SlipStream® GTS-DeHy technology is expected to provide a cost effective, reliable solution for BTEX emission elimination from glycol dehydrators.