Sizing of a packed stripping tower for seawater injection process and H2S abatement on an FPSO

The purpose of this working thesis is to study and analyze in depth the sea water injection unit found upon an FPSO. In particular, attention is focused on the vacuum deaeration column used for the degasification of the seawater stream in two stages: the first, with a lower vacuum degree and the second with a higher vacuum degree. Moreover, this thesis studies the mass transfer operation, carrying out a profound dissertation of the mass transport phenomena, introducing the mass transfer equations and coefficients. This study has been developed because it is desired to size another stripping column inside a new process, which takes greater advantage of the mass transfer to remove oxygen from seawater. In the end, since there are chemical processes which produce H2S, this flue gas can’t be sent to the atmosphere so they are demolished and burnt inside an incinerator where SO2 is produced and then treated in a plant to arrive at pure S. The idea is to put in contact seawater and H2S in order to produce sulphate which are then treated in a specific plant for the abatement of sulphates. This would be an enormous economic advantage and it would simplify the process significantly.