Improved Regeneration of Adsorbent Beds

Adsorbent bed treating systems are common in refineries and petrochemical manufacturing facilities and have widespread applications. They are used to dry instrument air, remove sulfur species and CO2, to meet product specifications, remove poisons from reactor feed streams, and remove water and CO2 from cryogenic fractionation trains.

Over time, changes in operating conditions may warrant a review of the treater design, operation, and regeneration procedures to improve efficiency. With changes to energy and utility costs, and improvements in desiccant technology, treaters that have been in service for a while may benefit from a fresh evaluation.

This paper discusses the operation of adsorbent beds and the typical costs associated with regenerating them. It also identifies methods for reviewing operation and regeneration techniques to reduce operating costs and emissions, using examples from an ethylene plant.