Sigma Thermal Blog

We are in the midst of a U.S. shale revolution: advancements in shale oil and gas extraction techniques have led to greater natural gas production levels and a renewed demand for natural gas in industrial and power applications. Because of the increased level of competition in the industry, process efficiency is paramount. Bringing natural gas to market cost effectively hinges on the optimal design and operation of the natural gas sweetening process.

Natural gas produced from reserves in almost never pure; rather, it contains acid gases such as carbon dioxide and hydrogen sulfide. One way to remove these impurities is amine gas treatment. An amine plant (also known as a sweetening plant) is used to remove the carbon dioxide and hydrogen sulfide from the gas solution so that pure natural gas can be efficiently transported to end users via pipeline.

Our latest white paper, Effective Heating Helps Amine Plants Purify Natural Gas, describes how to improve the natural gas purification process with effective heating. It also reviews the optimal conditions and system settings for controlling the amine regeneration temperature and optimizing the efficiency of the process.

Retrofitting equipment can be a frustrating process if not planned and executed properly. Sigma Thermal has worked on a variety of retrofitting projects, including heater coil replacements, heater modifications, custom thermal system solutions and much more. To learn how Sigma Thermal can help you with your equipment, read on.

Fire safety is an ever-present concern for operators of thermal oil heating systems. To understand the scope of the problem, let’s review the salient facts.  

First and foremost, this is a relatively rare and well-understood threat to users of thermal oil heating systems. Plant owners and operators have been dealing with fire prevention issues for the better part of a century, according to an article in Chemical Processing magazine. So there are a lot of best practices in place to address this specific risk within the industry.