Natural Gas Processing

1. Introduction:
▪ Gas Processing Scheme
CO2 vent
▪ Pipeline
Sulfur recovery ▪ Flare
▪ Reinjection
acid gas Solid Sulfur
Raw
Phase Condensate
Treatment Compression Dehydration Recompression
separation recovery
gas

H2O
condensate
Solids H2O Cond.

1. Phase separation: Physical separation of distinct phases (solids, liquid water, liquid HC, and NG).
2. Treatment: Removal of acid gases (H2S, CO2), by contacting gas in an absorber (ethanolamine- water solution)
3. Dehydration: Removal of water to prevent hydrate formation by absorption or adsorption.
4. Condensate recovery: Recovery of liquefiable HC (C2, C3 …) by cooling or compression and cooling.
5. Recompression: Gas compression to (700 – 1000) psi to permit pipeline transport.
▪ Reasons for gas treatment or acid gases (H2S, CO2) removal:
- H2S is toxic and both are corrosive
- They are impurities and reduce heating value of gas
- They promote hydrate formation because they are soluble in water than NG
- Vapor CO2 forms solid CO2 in Cryogenic process ( -100oF)
▪ Reasons for dehydration or vapor water removal (6-8 lb/MMSCF):
- To prevent formation of gas hydrate which plugs pipeline
- Water vapor is an impurity and it reduces heating value of gas
- To prevent two phase flow (slug flow)
- Liquid water promotes corrosion in presence of acid gases
▪ Reasons for condensate recovery:
- To maximize oil production by adding condensate to it (associated gas)
- When gas is used in gas injection applications (retrograde gas condensate reservoir)
- when NGL is more valuable as liquid product than as sales gas product
▪ Reasons for natural gas compression during processing:
- Before dehydration process to lower dehydration costs.
- To meet pipeline transport pressure (700-1000) psi to lower pipeline diameter
- Dense gas flow > 1000 psi to prevent condensation and two-phase flow
- It may be required in NGL recovery
- In gas injection applications
▪ Possible destinations for processed natural gas:
- For pipeline to customer as sales gas (natural / associated)
- For gas injection application for eventual recovery and sales
- For flare according to environmental regulations and field location

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 Natural Gas Processing
▪ Important factors in selecting the scope of gas processing:
A. Process objective:
- To produce transportable gas: dew point
- To produce salable gas: heating value
- To maximize condensate production
Three possible ways if gas will drop condensate during transport:
✓ Two phase flow: large diameter pipe with slug catcher at the end
✓ Condensate removal: to produce HC dew point lower than LET
✓ Dense gas flow: require high pressure rating and larger thickness pipe
B. Type of gas:
- Gas well gas: whether wet or dry is composed mainly of methane, condensate content is
not high and may not have to be reduced to produce salable gas
- Associated gas: very rich in liquefiable hydrocarbons and must undergo condensate
recovery to meet hydrocarbon dew point or to maximize heating value
- Gas condensate reservoir: high percentage of heavier hydrocarbons and must undergo
condensate recovery to produce transportable gas and maximize liquid recovery
In some cases, gas cycling is required to reduce condensate losses in reservoir

C. Location and size of field

- Remoteness: offshore vs outback
- Climate: cold areas require caution about hydrate formation
- Size: small field processing is simple while large field is complex

▪ NGL recovery techniques:

1. Refrigeration (cryogenic process)
C
2. Joule-Thomson Expansion
C’
3. Turbine Expansion
- inlet gas is precooled in gas to gas HE C’’
A B
- gas then is cooled either by:
1. External refrigeration by propane chiller
2. Mechanical refrigeration by expansion in choke
3. Mechanical refrigeration by expansion in turbine
- liquid HC flows from separator bottom to stabilization.
- Cold gas flow from separator top to GTG HE to cool inlet gas before it flows to pipeline.

Retrograde Phenomena:
Gas condenses into a liquid under
B
isothermal conditions instead of C A

expanding or vaporizing when C’’

pressure is decreased. C’

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 ▪
Natural Gas Processing
Gas cleaning techniques (liquid and solids
separation):
- Gravity settling
- filtration (fiber glass)

2. Gas and liquid separation: - Centrifugal action

- scrubbing (dry, oil, cartage)
- Impingement (mesh wire, vane, fiber type ME)
▪ Major components of separator: -
electrostatic precipitation

1. Primary separation section (inlet diverter)

- It causes efficient separation by centrifugal, gravity settling and impingement of stream
- Liquid falls into liquid accumulation section and gas flows towards mist extractor
2. Gravity settling section
- Retention time allow more gas to separate from liquid by gravity.
- Volume of this section must be sufficient to provide time required for separation.
3. Mist Extractor
- Located at top of separator to recover liquid droplets entrained in leaving gas
- Three types available: vane, mesh wire, and fiber type mist extractor
- Liquid droplets accumulate until they become large enough to settle by gravity

▪ Types of separator:

Type Advantages Disadvantages Shape

▪ Liquid level control is not ▪ More expensive to fabricate

Gas outlet

critical. Mist Extractor

1
▪ Applicable for offshore ▪ More expensive to transport Gas inlet

Diverter
Vertical

application. to location. 1
▪ Can handle sand Gravity settling

production. ▪ Larger than horizontal Liquid

accumulation
▪ Applicable for low to separator for the same Liquid outlet

intermediate GOR wells. capacity.

▪ Applicable for high GOR ▪ Liquid level control is so
wells. critical. Gas outlet

▪ Cheaper in fabrication and

Horizontal

Gas inlet Coalescing plates

Diverter

transportation ▪ Difficult to clean and can’t 1 Mist Extractor

1

Gravity settling

▪ Smaller than vertical for handle sand production. Liquid accumulation

the same capacity Liquid outlet

▪ Easier and cheaper to ▪ Occupies large space,

install and service. inapplicable for offshore
▪ Cheaper than horizontal ▪ Liquid level control is Gas inlet

and vertical separators. critical.

Diverter
1
Spherical

▪ Provide better clean out ▪ Very little surge capacity

and bottom drain features. and liquid settling section. Mist Extractor
1

Gravity settling

▪ Applicable for low to ▪ Not applicable for three Liquid accumulation

intermediate GOR wells. phase separation. Liquid outlet

Gas outlet

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 Natural Gas Processing
3. Natural gas Dehydration:
It is the process of reducing water content in natural gas from 400-500 lb./MMSCF to 6-8 lb./MMSCF.

▪ Parameters affecting water content in NG:

- Temperature: water content increases with increasing temperaure
- Pressure: water content decreases with increasing pressure.
- Gas composition: water content decreases with increasing density.
- Salt content: of free water in equilibrium with gas in reservoir:
Water content decreases with increasing salt content of associated water.

▪ Dewpoint and dew point depression:

- Dewpoint: it is the temperature at which the natural gas in saturated with water vapor at a
given pressure and it indirectly indicates water content of natural gas
- Dewpoint depression: it is the difference between NG dewpoint before and after
dehydration.

▪ Natural gas hydrate:

- Defintion: it is a solid crystalline compound resembling ice or wet snow in apperance but
much less dense than ice.
- Theory: the natural gas comonents (CH4, C2H6, C3H8, i-C4H10, CO2, H2S, and N2) enter the
water lattice and occupy the vaccant lattice positions causing water to solidify at
temperatures higher than the freezing point of water.
- Structures: (I) smaller molecules (CH4, C2H6, H2S) form boddy centered cubic lattice.
(II) larger molecules (C3H8, i-C4H10) form diamond lattice.
- Hydrate number: it is the number of water molecules associated with each molecule of
gaseous compnent( (CH4, CO2, H2S, N2 . 6 H2O / C2H6 .8 H2O / C3H8, i-C4H10 . 17 H2O).

- Hydrate phase diagram: (water – gas – hydrate system)

- Conditions promoting hydrate formation:

For a gas to be a hydrate former it must:
- Has covalent type bond with molecules < 8 A
- Gas in liquid state is immiscible with water
Primary conditions:
- Natural gas at or below dew point with liquid water
- Low Toperating at / below HFT for a given (P & comp)
- High Poperating that may rise the HFT to Toperating
Secondary conditions:
- High velocity, agitation, and pressure pulsation
- The presence of small seed “crystal” of hydrate
- The presence of (CO2, H2S) because they are
more soluble in water than hydrocarbon.

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 Natural Gas Processing
▪ Dehydration Techniques:
A. Absorption dehydration by liquid desiccant:
▪ Properties of liquid desiccant:
- Easy and economic regeneration
- No operational problems when used in high concentrations
- No interaction with hydrocarbon and no contamination with acid gases
- Non corrosive and non-toxic
- High absorption efficiency
▪ Liquids used in absorption: Ethylene, Di, Tri, and tetra-ethylene glycol (EG, DEG, TEG, T4EG)
- They offer superior dew point depression
- Low capital and operational costs
- Process reliability
#Note: Almost all plants use TEG because: It’s better dew point depression, Low vapor losses, Used for sweet and sour gas

B. Adsorption dehydration by solid desiccant:

▪ Properties of liquid desiccant:
- Easy and economic regeneration - Small resistance to gas flow
- High mechanical strength - Non-corrosive, non-toxic, chemically inert
- High mass transfer rate (rate of removal)
▪ Liquids used in absorption:
Type Advantages Disadvantages
▪ Least expensive type ▪ High regeneration heat
Alumina ▪ Excellent DP depression (-100oF) ▪ Alkaline and not applicable for acid gas
▪ Good resistance to liquid ▪ Difficult to remove heavy hydrocarbons
Gels ▪ Easy to regenerate desiccant ▪ Limited H2S percentage (5-6 %) due to
(silica gel & silica ▪ Acidic and can handle acid gases deposition of sulfur
alumina gel) ▪ Easy to remove heavy HC ▪ Can’t handle alkaline stream (caustic/ammonia)
▪ It is the best choice for sour gas ▪ Very high regeneration temperature
Molecular ▪ Reduce water content to 1 ppm ▪ Don’t adsorb heavy hydrocarbons
sieves ▪ Effective adsorption to (H2O, H2S) ▪ The most expensive type

C. Dehydration by expansion refrigeration:

When well head pressure is high enough LTS is the most effective method of:
- Separation of liquid water condensate recovery from gas
- Dehydrate gas to pipeline specifications
Theory: to allow gas to expand in a choke thus lowering its pressure and temperature
▪ Processes of LTS:
1. LTX unit: intentionally forms and melts hydrate
2. LTS unit: uses hydrate inhibitors (EG, Methanol)
3. LTS unit with mechanical refrigeration

#Hydrate inhibition is done either by Heating gas stream or by using Hydrate inhibitors such as EG
DEG or methanol as it is cheap and available but it contaminates plant and its vapor is toxic

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 Natural Gas Processing
4. Natural gas Sweetening:
▪ Criteria for sweetening process selection
- Type and concentrations of impurities
- Selectivity of required acid gas removal
- P & T at which sour gas is available and sweet gas pressure required
- The volume of gas and it’s hydrocarbon composition
- The desirability of sulfur recovery
- Economics of the process
A. Absorption sweetening by liquid desiccant (Chemical):
▪ They are the most widely used because of:
- Good reactivity at low cost
- Flexibility in design and operations
- Easy and economic regeneration
- Economic for large gas volumes
- No corrosion problems
Type Advantages Disadvantages
▪ Highest reactivity (removal capacity) ▪ Suffers high solution losses due to:
▪ Ability to treat gas to PL specs - It’s high vapor pressure
MEA ▪ Low molecular weight (low Q) - Inverse reaction with COS and CS2
▪ Chemically stable
▪ Less reaction with COS and CS2 ▪ Lower reactivity than MEA
DEA ▪ Low vapor pressure thus low losses ▪ Difficult to treat gas to PL specs
# physical processes are: water wash and selexol

B. Adsorption sweetening by solid desiccant:

▪ Not widely used but they offer:
- Simplicity and High selectivity (H2S) removal
- Efficiency is independent of pressure
Type Advantages Disadvantages
▪ Simplicity and absolute selectivity ▪ Difficult and expensive regeneration
Iron sponge ▪ Relatively less expensive ▪ Excessive pressure loss through bed
▪ Low shrinkage because CO2 remains ▪ Difficult to remove large amounts of sulfur
▪ High selectivity of H2S ▪ Gas losses (adsorbed to bed)
Molecular ▪ High adsorption efficiency ▪ Requires high regeneration heat
sieves ▪ Simultaneous dehy. And desulf. ▪ Reacts with CO2 and forms COS

▪ Sulfur recovery: (clauss process)

- In which H2S is converted to elemental sulfur to prevent H2S venting or flaring
𝟑
- 1/3 of H2S is burned to water and SO2 [𝐇𝟐 𝐒 + 𝟐 𝐎𝟐 = 𝐒𝐎𝟐 + 𝐇𝟐 𝐎]
- SO2 Reacts with the remaining H2S to form elemental sulfur [𝐒𝐎𝟐 + 𝟐𝐇𝟐 𝐒 = 𝟑𝐒 + 𝟐𝐇𝟐 𝐎]

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