Midstream Pipeline Company Relies on Twist-LOK™ For Iron Sulfide Removal

2019-08-16

JONELL SYSTEM’S FILTRATION TECHNOLOGY PROTECTS SOPHISTICATED DOWNSTREAM EQUIPMENT DURING VITAL STAGES OF THE FILTRATION PROCESS WITH IRON SULFIDE FILTRATION.

Midstream services are an integral part of transporting natural gas, crude oil, condensate, and NGL commodities across the United States. With expansive gathering, processing, fractionation, transportation and logistics, pipelines are strategically placed.

Our customer operates approximately 11,000 miles of gathering and transportation pipelines, 20 processing plants with 4.8 billion cubic feet of net processing capacity and seven fractionators with 260,000 barrels per day of net fractionation capacity.

THE CHALLENGE

A Compressor Station was experiencing high levels of iron sulfide (commonly known as black powder) and other oxides that were contaminating equipment downstream. Iron sulfide is the most prominent contaminant in natural-gas pipelines and compression equipment in pipeline, refinery, gathering, and storage applications. When black powder collects in gas pipelines it causes wear, reduces efficiency in compressors, clogs instrumentation and valves, and leads to flow losses.

Iron sulfide shears easily, breaking into submicron-sized particles. Our challenge was to develop a filtration solution to remove the black powder before it entered the compressor.

The existing filtration had bypass issues caused by poor cartridge sealing allowing the black powder & other contaminants downstream.

THE SOLUTION

Jonell Systems installed Twist-LOKTM elements to filter the iron sulfide contaminants and eliminate liquids downstream. These elements with multiple media options fit into the existing housing and are ideal for black powder/ iron sulfide filtration as well as liquid coalescing.

The Twist-LOKTM cartridge provided a first stage ‘outside-to-inside’ flow direction filter element and a second stage ‘inside-to-outside’ flow coalescing element. Three robust sealing points eliminated issues with liquid bypass and optimizing the media reduced the contaminants downstream.

THE RESULT

By installing Twist-LOKTM filters, the Compressor Station reduced the impact of the iron sulfide contamination.

The success with the Twist-LOKTM elements carried over to other midstream gas plants in the same company and improvements were realized immediately. This helped to preserve equipment downstream and resulted in millions of dollars in savings.

If you are experiencing issues with challenging contaminants, frequent change-outs, are unable to measure differential pressure or would like to further optimize your filtration process, talk to us.

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