Examine inlet separation technologies for increased reliability

D. B. Engel and S. Williams, Nexo Solutions, The Woodlands, Texas Contamination ingression into gas processing units is one of the most prevalent modes negatively affecting plant operations. To enable plants to run with minimal instabilities, increased capacity and high reliability, it is necessary to perform inlet separation to remove unwanted contaminants in the gas feed prior to processing. Several feed separation approaches must be considered to determine the appropriate action mode. Feed inlet separation methods include the characterization and evaluation of inlet contaminants, process conditions and variability, expansions, space and maintenance aspects, and various separation techno