About aMDEA
aMDEA® means "activated methyldiethanolamine." BASF's Intermediates division markets this technology for the removal of acid gases like hydrogen sulfide (H2S) and carbon dioxide (CO2). The scrubbing agent is an aqueous alkaline amine solution that BASF produces at its Ludwigshafen, Germany, and Geismar, USA, sites. The principle: the acid gas to be purified passes through a reactor that contains the alkaline aMDEA scrubbing solution. This results in an acid-base reaction: The undesirable component - CO2, for example - reacts with aMDEA and stays in the scrubbing solution. The scrubbing solution is then heated in another reactor to release the CO2. Thus purified, the aMDEA solution is recycled to the first reactor and used again. To prevent the CO2 from escaping to the atmosphere once it has been removed from the gas and reconditioned, energy can be applied to condense and store it, for example in saltwater-bearing strata of rock (saline aquifers) or in depleted oil or gas deposits.
Breakthrough was achieved in 1997 on the Indonesian island of Borneo, two hours by car north of the equator. Here, right in the jungle of Kalimantan, was the location of what was then the world's largest LNG facility. And national operator Pertamina had been convinced to try out aMDEA in one of its seven production lines. The trial was an overwhelming success, the new process proved to be highly efficient.
Today BASF is a preferred partner for gas treatment operations. "BASF grants licenses for its aMDEA process, sells the gas treatment solution and provides technical services on top of this," said Dr. Andreas Northemann, head of the global gas purification business in BASF' Intermediates division. "Growth in the LNG market is above average." The prospects for the future are bright, too: Northemann expects to see fresh impetus from innovations in core businesses and new future technologies like CO2 removal from power plant flue gas or biogas.
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