Mellapak improves natural gas drying process

Untreated natural gas contains water and other components, such as sulphur compounds, which have to be removed during the production process. Such impurities can be utilized to produce materials for use in the chemical industry. Normally, however, water and water vapour in conjunction with other substances have to be removed, as they cause damage in installations and pipelines. Hence natural gas has first to be dried at source. Today, this is normally effected in absorption columns using triethylene glycol (TEG) as dessicant, which is then recovered, treated and recycled. Using Sulzer-Chemtech spacesaving, lightweight, Mellapak structured packings in the column lowers investment and operating costs as well as the consumption of triethylene glycol. These advantages, coupled with the Corporation's comprehensive technological know-how concerning structured packings, have made Sulzer the market leader in this sector. (orig.).