Refrigeration-based HDPU packages that control hydrocarbon and water dew point in natural gas streams — protecting pipelines and downstream equipment while recovering valuable NGLs.
As natural gas cools during transport, heavier hydrocarbon components can condense out inside the pipeline — a liquid dropout that damages compressors, fouls instrumentation, and violates sales-gas contracts. Our Hydrocarbon Dew Point Units (HDPU) use mechanical refrigeration to chill the gas stream under controlled conditions, condensing and separating those heavier components before the gas ever reaches the pipeline.
Each unit is engineered around your feed gas composition and target dew point specification, then skid-mounted and shop-tested for straightforward site installation — with an optional NGL fractionation train where liquid recovery adds commercial value.
Inlet gas is progressively chilled, hydrate-protected with glycol, and separated at temperature — recovering both a dry sales-spec gas and valuable NGLs.
Inlet gas is pre-cooled by cross-exchange against the cold residue gas and liquid streams leaving the low temperature separator (LTS).
The pre-cooled stream is chilled further in the gas chiller using a propane refrigeration loop, driving the gas down toward its target dew point.
Lean ethylene glycol (EG) is injected ahead of the chiller exchangers, absorbing water in-situ to prevent hydrate formation at low temperature.
The chilled three-phase stream enters the LTS, where dry residue gas, condensed hydrocarbon liquids, and water-rich glycol split apart.
Cold residue gas and hydrocarbon liquids are routed back through the cross-exchangers, recovering their refrigeration duty before leaving the unit.
Rich glycol from the LTS undergoes level-controlled regeneration, driving off absorbed water and returning lean EG to the injection system.
Recovered hydrocarbon liquids can be routed to a de-ethanizer to strip light ends, yielding a stable NGL product ready for storage or sale.
Every HDPU is built around a proven refrigeration and separation train, engineered and shop-assembled as a single skid.
Sets the low temperature separator operating temperature using a propane refrigerant loop sized to the required dew point depression.
Three-phase vessel separating dry residue gas, hydrocarbon liquids, and rich glycol at the coldest point in the process.
Recover cooling duty from cold product streams to pre-chill incoming feed gas, cutting refrigeration load.
Compressor package with controlled circulation rate, sized to minimize horsepower while holding evaporating temperature.
Dispersion and injection controls that dose lean EG precisely to inhibit hydrates at the lowest process temperatures.
Level-controlled regeneration of rich EG, restoring glycol purity for continuous recirculation to the injection system.
Fractionates recovered hydrocarbon liquids, removing light components to produce a stable NGL product.
Alternative dew point control methods available where Joule-Thomson expansion or turboexpansion suit the application better than mechanical refrigeration.
Emissions control package for benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene, and xylene recovered from glycol regeneration off-gas.
Meeting pipeline hydrocarbon dew point specifications at custody transfer and interconnect points.
Capturing propane-plus liquids as a saleable co-product alongside dry residue gas.
Pre-conditioning feed gas to protect cryogenic liquefaction equipment from heavy hydrocarbon freeze-out.