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Glycol Used for Natural Gas Dehydration: Evaluation of Subsurface Transport and
Fate Issues
J.A. Sorensen, S.B. Hawthorne, J.R. Gallagher, Energy & Environmental Research Center, and J.A. Harju, Gas Research
Institute
Abstract
Triethylene glycol (TEG), diethylene glycol (DEG), and ethylene glycol (EG) are commonly used to dehydrate the natural
gas stream. These compounds may be introduced into the subsurface environment as a result of spills, leaks, mechanical
failures, and past disposal practices. The toxicity of the dehydration glycols at concentrations typically found in the subsurface in the vicinity of a dehydration unit is generally considered to be low. However, the miscibility of the glycols suggests that they may act as cosolvents for other more toxic, less
soluble, organic compounds such as polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), thereby increasing the subsurface mobility
of those compounds. In 1998, a series of laboratory-based
research activities was initiated to determine 1) the nature of
cocontaminants that may be associated with the gas dehydration process, particularly spent glycols, 2) the biodegradability
of the dehyradation glycols under environmentally relevant
conditions in soils from three different gas-producing regions
of North America, and 3) the potential effect of the dehydration glycols on the subsurface mobility of PAHs in the same
three North American soils.
Introduction
Examination of the literature on gas industry wastes indicated
that wastes associated with glycols from gas dehydration operations may be of some environmental concern. These reviews concluded that 1) past disposal practices have resulted
in the release of glycol-related wastes into the subsurface environment, 2) their physicochemical properties suggest that glycols may be readily transported in the subsurface and act as
cosolvents, 3) very little research has been performed regarding the biodegradability of gas industry glycols and their associated wastes under environmentally relevant conditions, and
4) regulatory scrutiny of glycols has increased in recent years
(1).
Generally, adequate data exist to confirm the presence of
glycols and at least some of their biodegradation products and
other associated contaminants in soils, sediments, and
groundwater at the sites in question. However, analytical and
other difficulties have typically prevented the nature and extent
of glycol-related contamination from being delineated in detail
at individual sites. At the same time, limited work has been
done on the behavior of the chemical species in question in the
subsurface, and, therefore, little is known about their subsurface transport and fate. Air emissions from glycol-based gas
dehydration units have been regulated under the Clean Air Act
for a number of years, but the U. S. Environmental Protection
Agency (EPA) has recently added ethylene glycol (EG) to its
list of contaminants to be considered for regulation under the
Safe Drinking Water Act. This places the natural gas industry
in the difficult position of having to effectively address a contamination issue that is neither well defined nor well understood.
The research described in this paper has focused on subsurface transport and fate issues related to triethylene glycol
(TEG), diethylene glycol (DEG) and EG. TEG and DEG were
selected for examination because they are used in a vast majority of gas dehydration units, and EG was chosen because it
is currently under regulatory scrutiny as a drinking water pollutant.
The intention of this research is to provide the natural gas
industry with data and insights that will enable it to 1) significantly improve the assessment of subsurface glycol-related
contamination at sites where it is known or suspected to occur
and 2) make soundly based decisions concerning the remediation of that contamination.
Background
Water in natural gas can cause serious operational problems in
both the transmission and processing of the gas. The natural
gas industry has found that dehydration ensures smooth operation of gas transmission lines, prevents formation of gas hy-
SPE 52730
SPE 52730 GLYCOL USED FOR NATURAL GAS DEHYDRATION: EVALUATION OF SUBSURFACE TRANSPORT AND FATE ISSUES
tivities. Approximately 29 samples of rich, lean, and raw glycol solution were collected from 12 dehydration units from
eight gas-processing facilities in different gas-producing parts
of North America (Louisiana, Texas, New Mexico, Oklahoma,
and Alberta, Canada). Samples were collected from a variety
of dehydration units in order to examine the heterogeneity
between wastes that may be caused by different gas compositions, feed rates, and/or the use of various additives. Collection
of samples was conducted by EERC personnel to ensure the
consistency of sampling methods. Gas company personnel
familiar with the operation of each dehydration unit were
asked to fill out a questionnaire on the operating characteristics of the sampled unit and the nature of the natural gas stream
itself.
Characterization of Cocontaminant Organics in
Glycol Wastes
The general experimental plan for determining the character of
cocontaminant organics in the glycol samples was as follows:
1. Samples of raw, rich, and lean TEG and EG were analyzed for gross characteristics, including elemental analyses
(C, H, O, N, and S) and total organic carbon (TOC).
2. Initial characterization of volatile and semivolatile cocontaminant organics was performed on all samples. These
initial characterizations were performed to categorize the
overall chromatographic behavior of the volatile and semivolatile organics (following methylene chloride extraction).
Difficulty in extracting many volatile and semivolatile organic
pollutants of interest from glycol wastes was expected using
conventional (e.g., methylene chloride) approaches. Therefore, the ability of the extraction methods was evaluated by
determining the recovery of appropriate deuterated spikes
(e.g., labeled BTEX [benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene, and xylenes] compounds and several PAHs [polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons]) from representative glycol wastes. In addition,
an innovative extraction method, solid-phase microextraction
(SPME), was evaluated for its ability to provide class-selective
removal of nonpolar organics (e.g., BTEX, PAHs) from glycol
wastes.
3. Identification of organic cocontaminants was performed
using organic solvent extracts (and SPME extracts) that were
characterized using gas chromatographymass spectroscopy
(GCMS) and gas chromatographyatomic emission detection
(GCAED). GCAED allows selective detection of individual
elements in individual organics. Elements monitored in this
study included C, H, N, S, and selected halogens. Semiquantitative determinations of significant (either in quantity or because of regulatory or toxicological interest) organic cocontaminants were performed using appropriate combinations of
GCMS, GCAED, and GCflame ionization detection (FID).
These studies also included quantitative determinations of the
original glycols (whether TEG or EG).
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for microbial growth. The reason for this possible growth inhibition is not known, but may be a toxic effect. Support for
the theory that TEG may have a toxic effect on the Louisiana
and New Mexico sediments is given by Bringmann and Khn
(8), who found that TEG showed a growth inhibition toxicity
threshold for Pseudomonas putida at 320 mg/L. The inhibition of growth and TEG metabolism in the Louisiana sediment
at the 200-mg/kg dose may be due to the lower pH of this
sediment (see Table 3) or because this sediment has been
shown in other experiments to have low microbial activity.
Aerobic biodegradation of DEG at a low dose is shown in
Figure 7. At this 200-mg/kg dose, the Alberta soil showed a
lag of 5.6 days, and a maximum rate of degradation of 1.6 mg
carbon dioxide evolved per 100 gdw per day. The New Mexico soil showed a similar lag period, 6.1 days, but the rate was
about one-half of that seen with the Alberta soil (0.9 mg
CO2/100 gdw-d). Biodegradation of DEG in the Louisiana
soil was much slower, demonstrating a lag period of about 20
days, and a maximum rate of 0.5 mg CO2/100 gdw-d. The
extent of biodegradation seen in all three soils is similar,
ranging from 78% to 89% of theoretical possible. It is interesting to compare the patterns of carbon dioxide evolution
noted in these three soils. For the Alberta soil, the curve is a
classical hyperbolic function (exponential increase, gradually
shifting to a plateau) with a lag period. In the New Mexico
soil, the curve shows a minor exponential increase, but quickly
shifts to an arithmetic increase, gradually flattening to a plateau. In the Louisiana soil, the carbon dioxide evolution pattern shows a very gradual increase and does not attain a plateau.
Overall biodegradation of DEG at the higher dose of
1000 mg/kg was similar to that at the low dose, with the exception that the extent of biodegradation was lower and quite
different among the three soils, as shown in Figure 8. As with
the low dose, the Alberta soil shows a classic hyperbolic function with a lag period. The lag period was 5.4 days, with a
maximum rate of 3.1 mg CO2/100 gdw-d, and the extent of
biodegradation was 51% of theoretical possible. Biodegradation in the New Mexico soil showed a lag period of 4.7 days
and a maximum rate of 1.3 mg CO2/100 gdw-d, and the extent
of biodegradation was 25.6% of theoretical possible. The
Louisiana soil showed the poorest biodegradation of DEG,
with a lag period of almost 40 days, a maximum rate of 0.9
mg CO2/100 gdw-d, and the extent of mineralization was
19.3% of theoretical possible.
Results of Anaerobic Biodegradation of TEG
Figure 9 shows cumulative CO2 evolution from the mineralization of TEG under anaerobic conditions over the course of
the experimental period (165 days) at a concentration of
1000 mg/kg. These data, summarized in Table 6, show relative lag times, biodegradation rates, and extent of biodegradation for TEG in the three soils at 25C. TEG was biodegraded
under anaerobic conditions in the Alberta sediment after a lag
period of 13.6 days. The extent of biodegradation seen in the
SPE 52730 GLYCOL USED FOR NATURAL GAS DEHYDRATION: EVALUATION OF SUBSURFACE TRANSPORT AND FATE ISSUES
References
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
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DEG
TEG
TREG
62.1
387.3/197.4
106.1
473.8/245.5
150.2
550.0/287.8
194.2
618.1/325.6
Freezing Point,
F/C
7.9/13.4
16.4/8.7
19.0/7.2
15.1/9.4
247/119
1.110
281/138
1.111
325/163
1.120
400/204
1.123
Vapor Pressure,
mm Hg @ 25C
<0.1
<0.01
<0.01
<0.01
Aqueous Solubility
Completely
miscible
Completely
miscible
Completely
miscible
Completely
miscible
Color
Clear, colorless
Clear, colorless
Clear, colorless
Clear, colorless
Molecular Weight
Boiling Point
@760 mm Hg,
F/C
Site 1
Site 2
TEG
EG (amine heater)
H, H1
L
Site 3
TEG
EG (amine heater)
H, H1
L
Site 4
TEG
Site 5
TEG
Drip
M
L
Site 6
EG
Site 7
TEG
Site 8
TEG
SPE 52730 GLYCOL USED FOR NATURAL GAS DEHYDRATION: EVALUATION OF SUBSURFACE TRANSPORT AND FATE ISSUES
Site
4 Rich
4 Lean
6 Rich
6 Lean
8 Rich
8 Lean
1
Benzene
150
0.9
480
7.9
100
4.6
Napthalene
<0.1
<0.1
<0.1
<0.1
28
15
Concentration in g/g.
North Dakota
Sediment
NA1
NA
NA
5.6
0.9
37.5
7.2
Not available.
Table 5. Biodegradation parameters for TEG in the three soils at 25C, 60% of the
moisture-holding capacity, with static incubation in the dark for 62 days under aerobic
conditions.
Alberta
Louisiana
New Mexico
Dose, mg/kg
200
1000
200
1000
200
1000
Lag Period, d
3.7
4.4
13.1
1.9
2.4
13.1
Maximum Rate,1
mg CO2 /100g-d
2.56
5.81
0.42
0.67
2.03
0.75
0.36
0.29
0.02
0.03
0.15
0.02
Theoretical Degradation, %
99.6
71.5
53.2
23.6
93.3
31.5
R2 for Regression
0.981
0.990
0.990
0.984
0.994
0.990
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Table 6. Biodegradation parameters for TEG in the three soils at 25C, 60% of the
moisture-holding capacity, with static incubation in the dark for 165 days under
anaerobic conditions.
Alberta
Louisiana
New Mexico
13.6
2.7
1.0
Maximum Rate, 1
mg CO2 /100g-d
1.59
0.20
0.60
0.06
0.01
0.03
Theoretical Degradation, %
64.4
8.1
32.3
R2 for Regression
0.991
0.983
0.982
SPE 52730 GLYCOL USED FOR NATURAL GAS DEHYDRATION: EVALUATION OF SUBSURFACE TRANSPORT AND FATE ISSUES
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SPE 52730 GLYCOL USED FOR NATURAL GAS DEHYDRATION: EVALUATION OF SUBSURFACE TRANSPORT AND FATE ISSUES
Fig. 5Cumulative net carbon dioxide evolution for TEG at doses of 200 mg/kg under aerobic conditions.
Fig. 6Cumulative net carbon dioxide evolution for TEG at doses of 1000 mg/kg under aerobic conditions.
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Fig. 7Cumulative net carbon dioxide evolution for DEG at doses of 200 mg/kg under aerobic conditions.
Fig. 8Cumulative net carbon dioxide evolution for DEG at doses of 1000 mg/kg under aerobic conditions.
SPE 52730
SPE 52730 GLYCOL USED FOR NATURAL GAS DEHYDRATION: EVALUATION OF SUBSURFACE TRANSPORT AND FATE ISSUES
Fig. 9Cumulative net carbon dioxide evolution for TEG at doses of 1000 mg/kg under anaerobic conditions.
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