The company we accompanied requested an online THT analyzer that can measure the concentration in the natural gas / biogas added to the pipeline network and, at the same time, increase the process response to variation of THT and reduce the operational costs.
Use of THT in natural gas / biogas industry
Since the XIX century, when the use of natural gas was widely commercialized, people tent to relate the natural gas to a sulfurous odor. This odor is a consequence of adding THT (Tetrahydrothiophene) or TBM (Tertion-Butylmercaptan) by the companies that commercialize or transport natural gas / biogas. These chemical products are commonly used as a safety indicator due to the high sensitivity of the human olfactory system to them. THT concentration is a control parameter for the commercialization of natural gas / biogas and its presence is regulated by the ISO 13734.
G800 THT analyzer for natural gas or biogas application
With the G800 analyzer, we can measure THT without interference. For natural gas / biogas applications, we can handle concentrations from 0.05 up to 30 ppm. We can expand to range of measurement or increase the precision to achieve your customer needs. Hemera’s technology gives faster results than gas chromatography and has less consumables, reducing the operative costs and decreasing the response time of our analysis.
Where is relevant to measure THT?
It is important to measure THT at different stages:
The natural gas treatment (acid gas removal, dehydration, NGL recovery, fractioning sweetening, and odorizing processes)
The biogas treatment (acid gas removal, dehydration, VOC removal, and odorizing processes)
The compression stages
The distribution system
At Hemera, we have identified 3 main process points where it is important to measure THT:
Safety for natural gas / biogas stocking process After the treatment process (for removing CO2, H2S, H2O, among others) the storage of natural gas / biogas requires odorization for safety purposes.
Control of THT presence in transport In transportation, it is important to ensure THT’s required concentration and to control the operational cost of injecting it. Besides, after the intervention of pipelines, the concentration of THT must be guaranteed before the reconnection to the gas network.
Final control for delivering to end users Before the natural gas / biogas is delivered to the distribution network, it should be guaranteed that the odorant concentration is in between the regulated limits.
THT analyzer: Case of success
At Hemera, we have tested our analyzer in the company’s process. The test showed that the range, selectivity, and speed of results of the G800 analyzer will improve the company’s operation, compared to the traditional measuring alternatives. The installed analyzer is still running without any negative feedback. THT control allows them to accomplish security conditions for natural gas / biogas stock and transport. In addition to this, it also becomes an operative parameter as its adequate measure and dosage can optimize operative costs of them.