Study and application of a cyclone for removing amine droplets from recycled hydrogen in a hydrogenation unit

Abstract

Recycled hydrogen is fed into a hydrogenation unit using a compressor with oil gas, amine droplets, and other hazardous gases at a super-high operating pressure after having been passed through a desulfurization system. This study developed a gas-liquid cyclone for removing amine droplets in recycled hydrogen based on computational fluid dynamics (CFD), an experimental study and industrial application. The results showed that the highest separation efficiency of the gas-liquid cyclone was 94.8% (experiment) and 97% (CFD) under 20°C and atmospheric pressure. Sampling and analysis showed that the highest separation efficiency for industrial application was 99.9% under 50°C and 10.7 MPa. The device purified the recycled hydrogen, and reduced both raw material losses and desulfurizer consumption. The energy consumption of the cycled hydrogen compressor and the pollution discharge of the hydrogenation unit were also reduced.