Contents lists avaiable at ScienceDirect ES Energy ELSEVIER journal homepage: www.clsevier.com/locat Review State-of-the-art assessment of natural gas liquids recovery processes: Techno-economic evaluation, policy implications, open issues, and the way forward Muhammad Abdul Qyyum *', Ahmad Naquash * |, Junaid Haider *, Saad A. Al-Sobhi °, Moonyong Lee *” + schoo! f Chemical neering. Yeanenam Univesity, Gvsngsn, 72-749, Republic of Korea > Department of Chica! Engineering, Callese of ngeceing Qatar Unity, PO Bet 271, Deke, Qatar inicio “ihoash many maproved concepual designs o natal gas igs (NGL) ecovey prowess ave been eee Jay 221 ‘eoieed to enbane the economies and etency,teaeworid applications remain elusive Deas of Recent eve frm {he comunieation gap between researchers and practioner. To bilge this gap. a state-olthecart Me on assesrent uf the NCL tecovery proveses is presehed alongwith an overal wiline considering the ected 2 Aagt 2021 feed conditions, product recovery. putty, specific energy consumption (SEC) process economics, and analy sftware using the equation of sate model Lower NCL components inthe feed havea hight SEC and lower operating costs hana ich Tee Ie was as found hat the eoneepal processes are more nergy intensive and complex than commercial processes. The maar challenges assole wth NCL ‘covey were sessed ied high energy consumption varying feed composition exit othe Keywords ue roduc covery nd design considerations for offshore NCL processing Future directions ate proposed, No patentee processes Including the application of hybrid separation processes and a process intensification to enhance the Poiana ana NCL market, compactness, particulary for ofshore applications, process optimization and heat integration. Further, NGL process suai an economic policy study is conducted that provides insight into market éynamics. The development of ‘ew natural gas (NG) reserves will Boost the NGL market and NG business. 1 2021 Elsevier Le, All ight ceserved. contents 1. tntroduction 2 2. Prospective NGL recovery schemes 2 5. NGL recovery processes state-of-the-art assessment 4 31, Techno-economic perspective 4 32. Conceptual patented, and commercial NL processes 6 321. Conceptual processes 5 523, Commercial processes 5 4. Polley implications 6 5. Open ises andthe way fervaré " Conclusions v7 Declaration of competing interest 8 Acknowledgment 8 res lesb MU} 5442/0 2021 Elsevier Ut. Al rights cesevedA Qyyum A. Noga, Haier ea Supplementary data References egy 238 (2022) 121686 1. Introduction ‘The petrochemical industry is considered one of the major economic sectors and is a pillar in many countries. The key feed- stocks of the petrochemical industry are natural gas (NC) and associated hydrocarbons (Le, ethane, propane, n-butane, iso- butane. and pentane plus), which are also called natural gas lig- uids (NGI). NGLs have become essential to industrialists, ecano- mists, and researchers in recent years. According to the Congressional Research Service report, the US. production of NGls reached 653 million barrels in 2008 and 1361 million barrels in 2017 [1 Ethane and propane are widely accepted NGs, and both Comprise more than 70 X of all US. domestic production [1] Powered by the US. shale boom, the growing export of the NGI industry has attracted the attention of key global economic centers. ‘The NGLs are separated from NG to maintain heating value and dew point of hydrocarbons for safe and economical transport through pipelines [2], In general, NGLs are recovered in larger amounts than needed for pipeline conditions, mainly due to exceptional economic benefits as compared to NG for a similar heating value [2], The choice of NGL recovery process is dependent upon (but not limited {o) the feed gas conditions, required purity and efficiency, and capital investment [3]. To extract NGL from NG, diferent processes have been employed, including absorption [2], adsorption [5], membrane [5], and eryogenic processes [5]. The absorption processes require 2 high capital investment, mainly because of the large space required to operate ising large heaters for the columns to supply the required energy [4]. The a¢sorption processes operate at high pressure to adsorb NGL from NG in solid materials such as silica gel or activated carbon. A high-pressure ‘operation makes this process capital intensive [7]. Membrane processes are compact in size and can achieve the desired efficiency With a smaller physical footprint and lower capital cost [8], Mem- brane processes are relatively new developments in the gas in- ‘dustry, and many further developments are in full swing to achieve a better efficiency and low operating and total costs with less process complexity [8,10]. Cryogenic distillation is a widely used technology for extracting NGLs from NG due to its high product purity and recovery [2]. Cryogenic processes are synergistically ‘effective when integrated with liquefied natural gas (LNG) [11] or nitrogen recovery unit (NRU) [12], mainly owing to their low- temperature operation, Cryogenic NGL recovery processes have evolved significantly since the 1960s. Many cryogenic NGL recovery processes have been patented, such as the well-known gas subcooled process [12]. recycle spit-vapor process [4] and IPSI-1 and IPSI-2 processes | 5]. Ortloff Engineers Ltd [14]. Is one of the recognized firms that have categorized the NGL recovery processes from fist to fifth gener tion, Several processes have been designed by Ortloff Engineers, Ltd. to improve the product recovery, including the well-known gas subcooled process, which was termed as “second-generation” process. Considering the limitations of the second-generation process (eg, an inability to maintain high propane recovery ‘while rejecting ethane), the third-generation process designs (eg, the recycle split-vapor process) were developed 14]. Similarly, fourth- and fifth-generation technologies were developed by take ing into account the need for enhanced ethane recavery and pro- cess compactness (14 Apart from patented processes, many conceptual studies (see ‘Table 2) have also been shown enormous potential for a perfor ‘mance enhancement. Recent advancements in the conceptual design of NGLs have focused on improving the energy efficiency and product specifications and decteasing cost through either a process integration or process intensification. For instance, Qyyum et al. [11] integrated the NGL process with ING and optimized it using an invasive weed algorithm, which resulted in 36.3 % total annualized cost savings with a 138 year payback period. Further, GGhorbani etal, [12] integrated the NGL process with LNG-NRU and evaluated the energy saving opportunities, They introduced an absorption refrigeration mixed reftigerant (AR-MR) system to provide the required cooling and compared the results with pro- pane mixed refrigerant (C3-MR) and dual mixed refrigerant (DMR) processes. Moreover, Uwitonze et a. [15] applied a process inten- sification approach to the NCL process to enhance the economics. ‘Their results showed a considerable savings in annval operating costs [16] “Many advancements in the conceptual design of NGL processes have been made thus far to enhance the process economies and elficiency, but still these designs are away fom industrial pract- Lioners and policy makers. A fait assessment with respect to pro- cess systems engineering (PSE) has a Key importance in commercializing the improved conceptual design of the NGL re- covery processes, From a commercial perspective, a lack of communication between PSE researchers and practitioners ts the ‘main reason behind this conceptwal-commercial gap To bridge this knowledge gap, this study presents state-of-the-art assessment af the NGL recovery processes from technical and economic view- point to discover open issues with potential solution based future Girections. Although, there are many detailed assessments regarding different sections of the NG supply chain available inthe open literature, to the best ofthe author's knowledge, there are no ctitical review available on the NGL secovery processes. Thetefore, this i the first study explicitly intended to provide an overall pic- ture of the NGL recovery processes when considering the feed conditions, prodict recovery, purity, energy consumption, process economics, involved configurations, and PSE analysis software us- ing the equation of state model. Furthermore, this study aims to provide references for process design engineers regarding NGLs And integrated state-of-the-art NGL. recovery processes, The at thors hope that this study will help process design engineers choose the optimum conceptual design for further enhancement and evaluation, ultimately leading so commercial applicability. This study can also align the research directions of PSE researchers associated with the NG value chai, 2. Prospective NGL recovery schemes ‘This section provides a brief overview of conventional NGI. re- covery processes such as absorption [4], adsorption [5], membrane [5], and cryogenic [5] processes. The process flow diagram of each technology is shown in Fi 1. ‘The lean oil absorption technology was developed in the 1910s and was exclusively in practice until the 1970s [5]. The lean oll absorption process is considered to be the oldest and least efficient process for NGL recovery [17] and uses lean oil to absorb hydro- carbons from feed gas. In addition, rich oll from the bottom is sentMA. Que. A Negus, Mader ea (a) Processed Gas nergy 235 (202) 124686 Fig 1 NoLsecoery process: (a) bare (b) aesorpten, (membrane an) evogeae to the stripping unit to regenerate oll and separate the NGL. Typi- cally, lean oil has a molecular weight of 100150 [4], A basic schematic ofthe absorption process {7] is show in Fig. 1(a). In the adsorption process, adsorbent media such as zeolites [18], activated carbon [18], Engelhard Titanosilicate-10 (ETS-10) [19 and metal organic frameworks (MOFs) [18] can be used for the adsorption of NGL from NG. A basic schematic of the adsorption process [7] is shown in Fg. 1(b). Adsorption is considered an emerging technology for hydrocarbon separation, mainly because ‘of low energy consumption [20] and suitability for small-scale NGL recovery plants [21]. In recent years, efforts have been made on zeolites [18], MOFS [20], and activated carbon materials [18] in terms of surface chemistry to achieve high product purity ‘The membrane separation process has been qualified as. suitable candidate, specifically for offshore plants. owing to its compactness, ‘minimum utility requirement, and low weight [8], In the mem brane process, the NG is passed through the membrane and hy- Arocarbons are removed while producing lean NG. The basic Schematics of the membrane process [7] are shown in Fig. 1(¢. Polymeric membranes are widely used membranes in NG separa- tion because of their robustness and high selectivity [22], Owing to the shortcomings associated with polymeric membranes such as plastcizaton, aging, Robeson upper bound [23], and inorganic membranes have been developed to overcome these limitations [25], However, inorganic membranes are expensive and difficult to fabricate. Mixed matrix membranes (MMMS) have been introduced to overcome the limitations of both polymeric and inorganic ‘membranes by integrating inorganic materials into polymers [23] For the separation of NGLs, researchers [24~26] have proposed ‘various studies for the separation of binary and multicomponent ‘mixtures. Conventionally, rubbery polymers such as paly- ¢imethylsiloxane (PDMS) are used for NGLs extraction from NG, ‘The cryogenic process is typically used ro extract NGL from NG with high purty and high recovery. na typical cryogenic process, the feed gas is cooled and chilled ina series of heat exchangers and reltigeration cycles, and the chilled feed gas is then fed to the cryogenic distillation columa (demethanizer unit). Methane is extracted from the demethanizer unit from the top, and NGL is extracted from the demethanizer bottom. These NGLs were fed to the deethanizer column for further fractionation. A asc schematic lof the eryogenic process [7] is shown in Fig. 1(d). Cryogenic tech- nology evolved in the 1960s after the introduction of the industry single stage (155) turbo-expander process [5]. However, there are some limitations of this ISS process such as CO3 freezing, which is significant reduced in the gas subcooled process (GSP) [12] Since then. different technologies such as a cold residue recycle (CRR) [27] recycle split vapor (RSV) [28], single column overhead recycle (SCORE) [28], and enhanced NGL recovery process (PSI-1 [128] and 151-2 [122]) have been introduced. Technologies such as GSP. CR and RSV have emphasized the upper section of the demethanizer [123] column, whereas PSI (1 and 2) technologies have focused on the bottom of the demethanizer column [28]. AINouss et al. [3] showed a comparison of these prominent NGL recovery technolo- gies in detail such thatthe IPI-2 process shows the maximum NGL Fecovery (8.42 2), whereas the IPSI-1 process shows the highest sales gas recovery (93.05 %). The ISS process shows the lowest fenergy consumption, although the sales gas and NGL recovery is the lowest among the studied processes.A Qyyum A. Noga, Haier ea egy 238 (2022) 121686 7 Tavares Tineatons Retereaer Tserpon T Rie emave ight ana ben NGL Requires hrge equipment an pi spaces ro os presute ops 1 Hi enecy consumption Raserpaen T High seca High capa esta because of igh presse vessels Baa Lelie Wena 7 Sines tiog 7 hiebane fing a high ving one i 1 cheapest process Trerene T High peductecvety conpiony of one stem rr 1 in ener consumption {Abie nt be reve to seid hye Formation ‘Table | summarizes the advantages and limitations associated ‘with absorption, adsorption, membrane. and cryogenic techno- Philes for NCLs recovery 3. NGL recovery processes: state-of-the-art assessment A detailed assessment of the NGL recovery processes based on the NG composition, conditions, process equipment, SEC, process simulation software, equation of state model, product purity and recovery, and process economics i presented in Table 2. The major remarks and analysis corresponding to each study reported in ‘Table 2 are provided as Supplementary material in Table Sl. This ‘Table 5! presents the brief summary of each NGI. process scheme reported from 2005 to 2020, ‘To ensure the efficient and economical recovery of NGI, re- searchers have either focused on process integration or process intensification, Many studies [112.33] are available in the Ii ‘ture regarding the integration of NGLs with LNG and NRU in uti- lizing a reftigeration process for effective NCL removal. which in retumn effectively reduces the (otal annualized cost (TAC). For instance, Chorbani etal. [34] studied integrated NRU sections with LUNG-NGL with an SEC of 0.65 KWh/kginc- This SEC (0.65 kWh/kguye [aD was further reduced to 0.482 kWhJkging by Lee et al. [22] after optimization and modification of the process configuration. In addition, integration of NGL recovery from shale gas with LNG at the regasification stage has also been studied to determine whether to utilize the cold energy of LNG and to maintain the heating value as per the pipeline standards [35.25], Moreover. utilizing the ben efits of ING cold energy to recaver NGI froma shale gas stream has also been presented [37]. Process integration isa powerful method for reducing energy consumption and capital cost. The graphical interpretation in Fig. 2 shows that researchers have focused more ‘on process integration Although these advancements ate not limited to process inte- ration, researchers have also focused on NGLs process intensifi- Cation, Le, the application of a dividing wall column (DWC) [16 thermally coupled distillation sequence (TCDS) [38], and heat pump (HP) [39]. TCDS can save approximately 4455 % of the operating cost compared to conventional distillation sequences [3}. Similarly, up to 73.43 % and 83.48 % of the condenser and reboiler duty, respectively, were saved compared to conventional columns when self-heat recuperation technology was applied, exploiting the benefits of the HP system [39] 31, Techno-economic perspective ‘Technical and economic analysis of NGLs recovery process is very important especially when NCL contents in NG vaties from source to source. The NG feed with high NGL contents is known as rich NG whereas NG with low NGL contents is called as lean NG. This percentage of NGL in NG feed contents has a very strong, impact on SEC of a process. In this context. researchers [15,75,98,100] have worked on different refrigeration cycles such as [MFC DMR, and C3-MR to analyze the process effciency in terms of energy consumption. For instance, Mehrpooya et al [75] studied the effect of the methane content in the feed gas on SEC with respect to different teftigeration cycles, as shown in Fig. 3. ‘As can be seen in Fig 5 that with incteasing methane content in feed or decreasing NGL contents, the energy consumption of the process increases. This is maybe due to the reason that the eryo- genic separation of methane at very low temperatures is energy Intensive a5 compared to separation of NGL because NGI have higher boiling points than methane, Similarly, to analyze the effect of NG richness on the required refrigeration and product recovery, Mehrpooya et al, [100] con- ducted another study. Keeping in view the external and internal (self) refrigeration in an_ integrated LNG-NGL process. They analyzed the SEC and methane recovery with varying methane composition in NG [100], as shown in Fig. 4. The results were compared by taking different feed compositions. n a gas mixture with low methane contents and high NGLs contents, methane re- covery is minimal in both external and internal refrigeration sys- tems, whereas the required power is at maximum. Gas mixtures rich in NCL require more refrigeration, and hence the overall power equired increases. By contrast, high contents of methane in NG. (more than 80 % methane) consume less power, whereas the product recovery is at maximum. Researchers have also investigated different optimization tech- niques to find optimal process conditions. Asani et al. (10] pre~ sented a multiperiod solution approach finding the optimal design Of NGL plant with variable shale gas feed ranging from 110 to 860 kmol/h. A simulation study of shale gas processing and NGL recovery plant with five periods representing changes in shale gas feed flow rates and composition. Zhu etal. [4] presented optimi- zation framework using surrogate models for optimizing the ‘operating conditions of a CRR process. The process was simulated in ‘Aspen Hysys dynamic mode and the set points of controllers are selected as optimizing variables. The dynamic surrogate model was established using deep techniques. namely a bidirectional 15TM with attention mechanism, which gave accurate predictions of the dynamic behavior, Kim and Gundersen [42] presented two ‘optimization objectives namely the SEC and exergy efficiency for the integrated LNGINGL process compared to IS5-NGL recovery ‘They concluded thatthe difference in the exergy efficiency is only marginal and they recommended more advanced upstream NGL extraction technologies. Mehzpooya et al. [55] showed that the utilization ofthe advanced exergy analysis indicated that there was high potential for improvement for ethane recovery unit, since