Operating experience with the Sulfinol process

Transcontinental Gas Pipe Line Corp. (Transco) owns and operates a natural gas sweetening plant in McMullen County, Texas, about 4 miles south of Tilden. The Tilden plant operated favorably with MEA until 1967. At that time, due to increased sour gas supply, the plant was expanded by converting to Shell's Sulfinol process. Several changes in plant design were required in the conversion from MEA to Sulfinol. The purpose of this study is to explain how the plant operates, mention some of the problems encountered while operating on Sulfinol, and give the solutions that were found to the problems.