Amine Guard™

Amine Guard™ is a process technology developed by Honeywell UOP for acid gas removal applications. It combines high-performance solvents called UCARSOL with UOP's engineering expertise to remove contaminants like CO2 and H2S from high-volume gas streams. The process is applicable to natural gas, syngas, gasification, blast furnace gases, and other sources.

In the Amine Guard process, acid or flue gases are scrubbed in an absorber column using UCARSOL solvent. The rich solvent then flows from the bottom of the absorber through a heat exchange process and is regenerated in a stripping tower. The lean solvent is then recirculated back to the absorber for further CO2 absorption. In addition to CO2 and H2S, the process can also remove COS and other sulfur components.

Key benefits of Amine Guard include optimized regeneration energy requirements, minimal hydrocarbon/H2/CO losses, and the ability to utilize waste heat for stripping steam. Two-stage configurations and process optimizations like flash-only solvent regeneration can be implemented for improved energy efficiency. 

The technology is considered to be at Technology Readiness Level 9, having been in commercial operation since the 1990s with over 400 units installed worldwide. Honeywell UOP provides expertise and support across the entire project lifecycle, from feasibility studies through to operational services. The process is applicable to industries like biomass/coal gasification, natural gas processing, ammonia/hydrogen production, and synthetic natural gas manufacturing.