Objective The aim is to put forward measures to reduce the carrying loss of triethylene glycol (TEG） by analyzing the main factors affecting the carrying loss of triethylene glycol.

Method Taking the TEG solution in the operation of a natural gas dehydration station as the research object, the influences of various factors on TEG carrying loss were analyzed. These factors included iron-containing compounds mass concentration in TEG, corrosion inhibitors and defoamers mass concentration in TEG, methyldiethanolamine (MDEA) and hydrogen sulfide (H₂S) mass concentration in TEG, hydrocarbons mass concentration in TEG, the temperature of natural gas into the absorber, the pressure of natural gas into absorber, the natural gas processing capacity and the reboiler temperature. The grey correlation method was used to identify the main controlling factors.

Result The factors such as mass concentration of iron-containing compounds, corrosion inhibitors and hydrocarbons in TEG were the main controlling factors affecting the triethylene glycol carrying loss. The primary cause of the carrying loss of triethylene glycol was identified as the triethylene glycol foaming, which increased the triethylene glycol droplets carried by the gas.

Conclusion The impurities brought from the natural gas into the triethylene glycol are the main reason for the increase in carrying loss of triethylene glycol, and the change of process parameters has little effect. The carrying loss of triethylene glycol can be reduced by controlling the impurity content in the natural gas entering the absorber, operating at high pressure and low temperature, and installing a separator on the natural gas pipeline at the outlet of the absorber.