Alkanolamine Determinations in Neutralizing Amines Samples with Improved Separation Technology

Sour natural gas contains unacceptably high concentrations of corrosive gases that must be neutralized into sweet natural gas product. The refineries neutralize the sour gas using concentrated alkanolamines, which are then regenerated during a recycling process. This presentation discusses an ion chromatography application to determine the concentration and therefore the effectiveness of the alkanolamines and the concentrations of accumulating corrosive cationic contaminants. The application using a novel stationary phase to elute the alkanolamines in an elution window between the monovalent cations and the divalent cations with a 0.4 µL injection to minimize dilution and column overload. The method development, method qualification, and sample results are presented.