Amine-stripper overhead condensers are typically air-cooled, fin-fan exchangers. Their duty can be determined from the concepts in Chapter 3 as required to cool the overhead gases and condense the overhead steam to water. The inlet temperature to the cooler can be found using the partial pressure of the overhead steam to determine the temperature from steam tables. The cooler outlet temperature is typically 130 to 145°F depending on the ambient temperature.
The reflux accumulator is a separator used to separate the acid gases from the condensed water. The water is accumulated and pumped back to the top of the stripper as reflux. With the vapor and liquid rates known, the accumulator can be sized using the procedures in Volume 1 for twophase separators.
