Technical Guidance Document Number 5: Glycol Dehydrators

This document provides technical guidance to Partners of the CCAC Oil and Gas Methane Partnership (OGMP). It is one in a series describing a core source of methane emissions from oil and natural gas production operations. The guidance documents introduce suggested methodologies for quantifying methane emissions from specific sources and describe established mitigation options that Partners should reference when determining if the source is “mitigated.”

Glycol dehydrators in the natural gas industry remove water from an incoming wet gas stream using monoethylene glycol, diethylene glycol, or, most commonly, triethylene glycol (TEG). “Lean,” or dry, glycol is pumped via a pneumatic or electric pump to a gas contactor where it mixes with the natural gas stream.