GPSA Ch. 16
| Parameter | Typical Range |
|---|---|
| Column Pressure | 75–200 psig |
| Reboiler Temperature | 250–400°F |
| Theoretical Stages | 6–14 |
| Tray Efficiency | 45–65% |
| C₁ in Bottoms Spec | 0.5–2.0 mol% |
| Dissolved Gas Loading | 3–15 SCF/gal |
Column Diameter (Souders-Brown):
Where CSB depends on tray spacing. Design velocity = Uflood × flood fraction. Column cross-section sized for overhead vapor traffic.
Function: The rich-oil demethanizer strips dissolved methane and ethane from absorber rich oil. Overhead vapors (primarily C₁/C₂) are returned to the absorber or fuel system. Bottoms (demethanized rich oil) proceed to the oil purification still for NGL recovery.
Understand rich-oil demethanizer design, reboiler selection, and stripping optimization