A Southwest midstream natural gas processing facility installed a regenerative thermal oxidizer (RTO) for the abatement of VOCs such as benzene, toluene and xylene and other compounds.

Catalytic Products International provided turnkey installation of the oxidizer, including engineering, design and supply. The 10,000-scfm unit destroys the incoming volatile organic compounds from the combined exhaust streams at a destruction rate efficiency of greater than 98 percent and a thermal efficiency of 95 percent, says CPI. A hot gas bypass to the regenerative thermal oxidizer system provides a method of controlling the RTO under high VOC conditions and ensures VOC destruction is maintained without cause for high temperature shutdown.   

An amine stripper is a countercurrent stripping process where natural gas is directed into the bottom of a tall tower, and an amine liquid solution is poured into the top of the tower. As the gas contacts the liquid, the CO₂, water and hydrogen sulfide (H₂S) impurities are adsorbed from that gas and held in the fluid. Then the natural gas is processed and ready to be directed to downstream users. The amine system uses a reboiler that boils off the CO₂, water, other VOCs and H₂S so the amine solution can be reused.