ABSTRACT
Increasingly stringent environmental regulations have caused emissions of air toxics from natural gas dehydration units to be a concern for the natural gas industry. Of particular interest are emissions of benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene, and xylenes, collectively known as BTEX. Radian Corporation and the Gas Research Institute have developed a software program called GRI-DEHY© to provide gas producers with an easy-to-use tool for estimating emissions of BTEX and other VOCs from triethylene glycol dehydration units. This program uses fundamental chemical engineering thermodynamics along with available experimental data to make its emissions estimates. GRI-DEHY provides a rapid, inexpensive method for determining which dehydration units are in compliance with applicable regulatory emission levels, which units may require minor control approaches, and which units may require retrofit controls. Pre-release testing has shown that GRI-DEHY provides good emissions estimates, especially for the BTEX compounds.
