SENSITIVITY ANALYSIS USING DEHYDRATION PROCESS SIMULATION OF A CONDITIONING PLANT FOR NATURAL GAS

This paper describes the development of a steady simulator for the sectors of dehydration and stabilization of a natural gas treatment plant. The simulator was implemented by using the commercial simulator ASPEN HYSYS . The gas considered in the simulation is a typical gas from deposits in the province of Salta (Argentina). The plant configuration and operating conditions adopted for the simulation are those generally used in the treatment of natural gas in Salta. With the developed simulator, a parametric sensitivity study of the major operating variables of the process was carried out. The simulation performed to visualize the process of dehydration, and analysis of their behavior depending on the variables critical operational: concentration of the solution of TEG (70 wt% - 99% p) and temperature of the reboiler (200 - 375 o F).