Investigation on the Factors and Mechanisms Affecting the Foaming of Triethylene Glycol in Natural Gas Purification

As the processing capacity of natural gas purification plants increases, the dehydration of triethylene glycol is affected by gas impurities, resulting in problems such as foaming, deterioration, and increased losses, which affect production costs, pipeline safety, and gas quality. Determine the on-site components of triethylene glycol, conduct simulated regeneration single-factor experiments to explore the influence of impurities, measure foaming performance and interfacial tension, and study the effects of various factors on the foaming performance of triethylene glycol. The experiment shows that water-soluble inorganic salts, solid impurities, etc. have different effects on the properties of triethylene glycol, while hydrocarbons have little effect. The ranking of the impact on foaming performance is: chemical additives>solid impurities>water-soluble inorganic salts>MDEA>hydrogen sulfide>hydrocarbons. The self decomposition and crystal morphology of water-soluble inorganic salts affect the foaming performance, in the order of MgCl₂>NaHCO3>KCl>NaCl>Na₂SO₄>CaCl₂; The morphology of solid impurities affects foaming performance, in the order of CaCO3>Fe₂O3>CaSO₄>ZnO>CuO>Al₂O3>FeS; Corrosion inhibitors and foam inhibitors containing surfactants are prone to foaming; Hydrocarbons have almost no impact, while hydrogen sulfide and MDEA have the least impact. Natural gas purification plants need to strictly control the content of chemical additives, solid impurities, and water-soluble inorganic salts.