NATURAL GAS

PROCESSING
PNG 812.2: LIQUEFIED NATURAL GAS
(LNG) PRODUCTION AND
HANDLING

Engr. (Dr.) Sunday S. Ikiensikimama

Associate Professor of Petroleum Engineering

Department of Petroleum and Gas Engineering,

University of Port Harcourt, Port Harcourt,
Nigeria
CIT-ChE
1
OUTLINE

2
REFERENCES

3
INTRODUCTION
• Natural gas is defined as gas obtained from a
natural underground reservoir.
• It generally contains a large quantity of methane
along with heavier hydrocarbons such as ethane,
propane, isobutane, normal butane, etc.
• Also, in the raw state it often contains a
considerable amount of non-hydrocarbons, such as
nitrogen, hydrogen suiphide and carbon dioxide.
• There are some traces of such compounds as
helium, carbonyl sulphide and various n~rcaptans.
• It is also generally saturated with water.
4
 INTRODUCTION
Table 1.1: Typical Raw Gas Composition
Geological Era
Gas Composition Mesozoic (Mole %) Paleozoic (Mole %) Solution Gas (Mole %)
N2 0.32 0.94 2.45
H2S 4.37 17.89 0
CO2 2.41 3.49 0.11
Methane 85.34 56.53 91.94
Ethane 4.5 7.69 13.85
Propane 1.5 3.38 7.3
Isobutane 0.25 0.87 1.06
n-Butane 0.48 1.73 2.15
Isopentane 0.15 0.71 0.36
n-Pentane 0.21 0.76 0.48
Hexane 0.47+ 1.48 0.18
Heptane plus - 4.53 0.12
5
WHY PROCESS NATURAL GAS
• Gas that is sold for commercial use is quite different
in composition to the gas given in Table 1.1.
• A typical composition of a gas that is sold directly as
an industrial fuel is given in Table 1.2.
Gas Composition From a Field Plant (Mole %) From a Straddle Plant (Mole %)
N2 0.3 0.35
C1 91.63 98.6
C2 5.72 1.05
C3 1.63 -
iC4 0.29 -
nC4 0.31 -
iC5 0.12 -
6
WHY PROCESS NATURAL GAS
• The gas that is sold is not specified by chemical
composition, but rather by a series of specific
properties that have to be met.
• To change the raw gas in the reservoir to a gas of
the composition of Table 1.2 it can be seen that the
gases of the compositions given in Table 1.1 will
need considerable processing.
• All the acid gas compounds, H2S and CO2, must be
removed, and if it is economical, or required for
environmental reasons the H2S should be converted
to elemental sulphur.
7
WHY PROCESS NATURAL GAS
• Also, all the free liquids, both hydrocarbon and
water, have to be removed.
• In fact, generally all the hydrocarbons heavier than
pentanes are removed as well as considerable
amounts of propane and butane.
• The removal of these compounds requires an
understanding of the laws of fluid flow, distillation,
heat transfer, etc.

8
CHEMICAL COMPOSITION OF
NATURAL GAS
• Natural gas is a complex mixture of hydrocarbon
and non-hydrocarbon constituents and exists as a
gas under atmospheric conditions.
• Virtually hundreds of different compounds may be
present in natural gas in varying amounts.
• Even two wells producing from the same reservoir
may produce gases of different composition as the
reservoir is depleted.

9
CHEMICAL COMPOSITION OF
NATURAL GAS
• According to the American Petroleum Institute,
about 172 compounds were isolated from a
naturally occurring petroleum hydrocarbon
mixture.
• Natural gases may have a similar complexity.
however, the major components in most natural
gases are paraffin hydrocarbons with smaller
amounts - usually only traces – of olefin
hydrocarbons, naphthenic hydrocarbons,
mercaptans, and non-hydrocarbon compounds.

10
 CHEMICAL COMPOSITION OF
NATURAL GAS
• The components of natural gas
are either aliphatic (chain) or
cyclic (ring) hydrocarbons. Their
structures are as follows.
Aliphatic or Chain Hydrocarbons
• Aliphatic hydrocarbons occur in
two forms: paraffin hydrocarbons
and olefin hydrocarbons. The
most common are saturated
hydrocarbons.
• CH4 - Methane (predominant)
• C2H6 - Ethane 11
CHEMICAL COMPOSITION OF
NATURAL GAS
• C3H8 – Propane

• C4H10 – Butane

• C5H12 – Pentane

• C6H14 – Hexane

• C7H16 – Heptane

12
CHEMICAL COMPOSITION OF
NATURAL GAS
Olefins hydrocarbons
• Olefin hydrocarbons have the general formula of
CnH2n and are classed as unsaturated
hydrocarbons.
• They usually occur only in traces.
• C2H4 – Ethene
• C3H6 – Propene
• C4H8 - Butene

13
CHEMICAL COMPOSITION OF
NATURAL GAS
Cyclic or Ring Hydrocarbons
• Cyclic hydrocarbons also occur in traces most of the
time. They are of two kinds: naphthenic, and
aromatic, hydrocarbons. For simplicity, only the ring
structures will be shown.
Naphthenic hydrocarbons
• Naphthenic hydrocarbons are saturated cyclic
hydrocarbons with the general formula of CnH2n

14
CHEMICAL COMPOSITION OF
NATURAL GAS
Aromatic hydrocarbons
• Aromatic hydrocarbons are unsaturated cyclic
hydrocarbons classified by the number of six-carbon
rings in the molecule.
• The structures of benzene, toluene, and ethyl
benzene are as follows:

15
CHEMICAL COMPOSITION OF
NATURAL GAS
• Structures of more complex aromatics such as
xylenes in which two or more methyl groups or side
chains are attached to the benzene ring are shown
below:

16
CHEMICAL COMPOSITION OF
NATURAL GAS
Nonhydrocarbon Components
• Some non-hydrocarbon components of natural gas
are as follows:
• Nitrogen N2 Carbonyl sulfide COS
• Carbon disulfide CS2 Sulfur S
• Carbon dioxide CO2 Hydrogen sulfide H2S
• Helium He Water vapor H2O
• Mercaptans *RSH
Note: R represents an alkyl group
17
CHEMICAL COMPOSITION OF
NATURAL GAS
Methyl Mercaptan and Ethyl Mercaptan
• Methyl mercaptan and ethyl mercaptan are the two
mercaptan compounds most commonly found in
natural gas.
• Their structures are as follows:

18
CHEMICAL COMPOSITION OF
NATURAL GAS
The effect of the various compounds on natural gas
will now be discussed:
Nitrogen (N2)
• This compound is quite inert and does not contribute
to the gas in any way.
• It should be noted that gases with high N2 content
often have high helium content.

19
CHEMICAL COMPOSITION OF
NATURAL GAS
Hydrogen Sulphide (H2S)
• This compound is the cause of the sourness in
natural gas.
• It is one of the most dangerous of industrial gases.
For example, if a person is exposed to a
concentration of 0.06% in air for two minutes, it will
probably result in his death.
• Thus, H2S has to be removed from the raw gas.

• This is done primarily by the process of

sweetening.
20
CHEMICAL COMPOSITION OF
NATURAL GAS
Carbon Dioxide (CO2)
• This compound is an acid gas like H2S, but it is not
nearly so undesirable. It does not support
combustion and thus does not contribute to the gas.
• The normal maximum acceptable concentration in
pipeline gas is 2%.
• Often gases of higher contents are accepted from
small fields as it does not pay to remove the CO2 if
only it is present.
• The sweetening process also is used for the
removal of CO2.
21
CHEMICAL COMPOSITION OF
NATURAL GAS
Carbonyl Sulphide (COS)
• This is a compound that often appears in raw gases
with high concentration of H2S in them.
• It is generally reported in grains per 100 CF (or in
ppm or mg/m3).
• It has the undesirable property of forming
nonregenerable compounds with one of the most
commonly used sweetening agents, monoethanol
amine.

22
CHEMICAL COMPOSITION OF
NATURAL GAS
Carbonyl Sulphide (COS) cont’d
• This causes increased chemical consumption of this
agent.
• Other sweetening agents such as "diethanol amine",
"sulphinol", etc., can be used to absorb it.
• The COS is generally broken down in the
regeneration step with these agents.

23
 CHEMICAL COMPOSITION OF
NATURAL GAS
Methane (CH4 or C1)
• This is the prime compound in natural gas.
Ethane (C2H6 or C2)
• This compound occurs as the second largest component of
all natural gases. It has a considerably higher gross heating
value than methane (1769 BTU's/SCF versus 1010
BTU's/SCF 3 3 of gas or 66.0 MJ/m versus 37.7 MJ/m ).
Propane (C3H8 or C3)
• This compound is a significant part of pipeline gas. However,
if the presence is much in the raw gas, say 2.0% or greater,
then it is generally more economical to absorb it and recover
it as a liquid and sell it as a liquid fuel.
24
CHEMICAL COMPOSITION OF
NATURAL GAS
Isobutane (iC1~H10 or iC4)
• This compound is normally extracted as liquid.
• It is used as a component in the manufacture of high
octane gasoline (alkylate).
n Butane (nC4H10 or nC4)
• This compound is normally extracted as a liquid. It is
generally used as a blending agent in motor
gasoline.

25
CHEMICAL COMPOSITION OF
NATURAL GAS
Pentanes and Heavier (C5H12 or C5 or heavier)
• These compounds appear in pipeline gas only in small
quantities.
• They are mostly in the form of liquids when entering the
processing plant.
• They are separated and are the primary compound in
condensate.
Mercaptans (CH3SH - methyl mercaptan or C2H5SH –
ethyl mercaptan)
• These are very foul smelling compounds that, in very
small quantities can be used as gas odorants, but in
larger quantities make the gas offensive to certain
consuming areas. 26
NATURAL GAS PHASE BEHAVIOUR
• Natural gas phase behavior is a function of
pressure, temperature, and volume.
• Therefore it is very often illustrated by the “PVT
diagram” or phase behavior envelope.
• Understanding phase behavior is critical to the
hydrocarbon recovery mechanism and production
prediction.
• Certain concepts, demonstrated in the Figure below
associated with phase envelopes are worth
introducing before we discuss different types of
natural gas behaviors.
27
NATURAL GAS PHASE BEHAVIOUR

Figure: Phase Diagram

28
NATURAL GAS PHASE BEHAVIOUR
• Clearly, the natural gas phase envelope can be very
different depending on its source.
• Bubble Point Curve - the curve that separates the
pure liquid (oil) phase from the two-phase
(natural gas and oil) region.
• This means that at a given temperature, when
pressure decreases and below the bubble point
curve, gas will be emitted from the liquid phase
to the two-phase region.

29
NATURAL GAS PHASE BEHAVIOUR
• Dew Point Curve - the curve that separates the pure gas
phase from the two-phase region.
• It is the connected points of pressure and temperature at
which the first liquid droplet is formed out of the gas
phase.
• Critical Point - the point on the phase envelope where
the bubble point curve meets the dew point curve.
• At that given pressure and temperature, gas properties
are identical to liquid properties.
• The pressure and temperature at the critical point are
called critical pressure and temperature, respectively
30
NATURAL GAS PHASE BEHAVIOUR

• Cricondentherm - the highest temperature at which

liquid and vapor can coexist.
• That means the mixture will be gas irrespective of
pressure when the temperature is larger than
cricondentherm.
• Cricondenbar - the highest pressure at which a
liquid and vapor can coexist.

31
NATURAL GAS PHASE BEHAVIOUR
• Quality Lines: Lines through the two-phase region
showing a constant percentage of liquid and vapour.
• Retrograde: The name given to phase behaviour
above the critical temperature and pressure where
vapour and liquid phases coexist and the amount of
vaporisation or condensation changes with pressure
and temperature in the opposite direction to normal
behaviour. (e.g: condensation of liquids occur by
lowering pressure or increasing temperature)
• Equation of State (e.g : ideal gas law): An equation
which describes the relationship between pressure,
temperature and molar volume of any homogenous
fluid at equilibrium 32
NATURAL GAS PHASE BEHAVIOUR
Dry- and Wet-Gas Phase Behaviours
• Dry gas is in the gaseous phase under reservoir
conditions, as marked by point A in phase
behaviour.
• It contains primarily methane with small amounts of
ethane, propane, and butane, with little or no
heavier compounds.
• When it is produced to the surface, it is maintained
in the gaseous phase with surface temperature
falling outside the two-phase envelope.

33
NATURAL GAS PHASE BEHAVIOUR

Dry- and Wet-Gas Phase Behaviours cont’d

• Therefore it will not form any liquids, which are
at times referred to as NGL (natural gas liquids).
• Wet gas, on the other hand, will have liquid
dropped out once it reaches the surface, which
means that the surface conditions of pressure
and temperature will fall inside the two-phase
region.

34
NATURAL GAS PHASE BEHAVIOUR
Retrograde-Condensate-Gas Phase Behavior
• Retrograde condensate systems and reservoirs are
a unique phenomenon that appears only among
hydrocarbon mixtures.
• No other mixtures of gases exhibit such behavior.
• As pressure decreases from point B to the two-
phase shaded area in the phase diagram, the
amount of liquid in the reservoir increases.
• As pressure decreases further, liquid starts to
revaporize.

35
NATURAL GAS PHASE BEHAVIOUR
Retrograde-Condensate-Gas Phase Behavior
• Between the dew point and the point where liquid
revaporizes is the region (shaded area in phase
diagram) of retrograde condensation.
• Many natural gas reservoirs behave in this manner.
• During production from such reservoirs, the
pressure gradient formed between the reservoir
pressure and the flowing bottomhole pressure may
result in liquid condensation and form a condensate
bank around the wellbore, reduce gas relative
permeability and remain unrecoverable.
36
NATURAL GAS PHASE BEHAVIOUR

Retrograde-Condensate-Gas Phase Behavior

• Sometimes it could seize production.
• One way to prevent the formation of condensate is
to maintain the flowing well bottomhole pressure
above the dew point pressure.
• An alternative technique is to allow the formation of
condensate, but occasionally to inject methane gas
into the production well.

37
NATURAL GAS PHASE BEHAVIOUR
Associated Gas Phase Behavior
• Under reservoir conditions, gas is often dissolved in
the oil phase as associated gas.
• As it is produced to the surface under lower
pressure and temperature, gas will come out from
the oil phase.
• An oil reservoir whose pressure is above the bubble
point (point C in the phase diagram) is usually
referred to as undersaturated.
• If the pressure is inside the two-phase envelope it is
called a saturated, or two-phase, reservoir and may
form a gas-cap on top of the oil zone. 38
NATURAL GAS PROPERTIES

• From the phase diagram, it is clear that the fluid

finds itself at different pressures and temperatures
during the whole process of natural gas production.
• Below is an outline of the gas properties that play
very important roles in gas production, prediction,
and evaluation.
• These include the gas specific gravity (often
compared to air), the gas deviation factor, density,
viscosity, isothermal compressibility, and the
formation volume factor.

39
NATURAL GAS PROPERTIES

Gas specific gravity

• Gas specific gravity:  g , as commonly used in the
petroleum industry, is defined as the ratio of the
molecular weight of a particular natural gas to that of
air.
• The molecular weight of a gas mixture is the
summation of the products of the individual mole
fractions and molecular weights of each individual
component.
• Air itself is a mixture of gases. So the molecular
weight of air has been calculated as 28.97.
40
NATURAL GAS PROPERTIES

• Therefore, g of a natural gas can be defined as:

MWm  y MW i i
g   i 1
MWair 28.97

• Where, yi and MWi are the mole fractions and

molecular weights, respectively, of individual
components in the gas mixture. n is the total gas
components in the gas mixture.

41
NATURAL GAS PROPERTIES

Gas Deviation Factor

• A natural gas mixture under reservoir conditions is
non-ideal and its behavior can be approximated by
the real gas law, a general equation of state for
gases:
pV  ZnRT
• where p is pressure in psi, V is the gas volume in ft3,
n is the number of moles of the gas, T is absolute
temperature in R, R is the universal gas constant
and equals to 10.73 psi ft3/lb-mol-R. Z is the gas
deviation factor or “Z-factor” in some petroleum
literature
42
NATURAL GAS PROPERTIES

Pseudoreduced Properties
• For gas mixtures, the gas critical pressure and
temperature are called pseudocritical pressure and
temperature to be distinguished from those of pure
components, and can be calculated as:
n
Ppc   y i Pci
i 1
n
T pc   y iTci
i 1

43
NATURAL GAS PROPERTIES

Gas Density
• The gas density is defined as mass (m) per unit
volume (V). It can be calculated from the real
gas law:

m pMW m
g  
v ZRT

44
NATURAL GAS PROPERTIES

Gas Formation Volume Factor

• The formation volume factor relates the reservoir
volume to the volume at standard conditions of any
hydrocarbon mixture.
• In the case of a natural gas, the formation volume
factor, Bg, can be related with the application of the
real gas law for reservoir conditions and for standard
conditions

V ZnRT / P
Bg  
Vsc Z sc nRT sc / Psc
45
NATURAL GAS PROPERTIES

Gas Formation Volume Factor

• By substituting the values of the known parameters,
the equation Bg become

0.0283 ZT
Bg  3
( ft / scf )
P

46
NATURAL GAS PROPERTIES

Gas Compressibility
• By substituting the values of the known parameters,
the equation Bg become

0.0283 ZT
Bg  3
( ft / scf )
P

47
NATURAL GAS PROPERTIES

Gas Viscosity

• Viscosity is a measure of a fluid’s internal

resistance to flow.
• The viscosity of a natural gas, expected to
increase with both pressure and temperature, is
usually several orders of magnitude smaller than
that of oil or water; and therefore, gas is much
more mobile in the reservoir than either oil or
water.

48
NATURAL GAS PROPERTIES
Gas Viscosity cont,d
• Gas viscosity correlations have been presented by a
number of authors.
• However, the Carr, Kobayashi, and Burrows (1954)
correlation presented in Figures A and B, has been
the most popular.
• Figure A allows the calculation of the viscosity at any
temperature and at a pressure of 1 atm. Figure B
provides the estimation of  / 1atm , which is the ratio
of the viscosity at an elevated pressure to the
viscosity at 1 atm.
49
 NATURAL GAS PROPERTIES

Figure A: Viscosity of natural gases Figure BViscosity ratio at elevated

at 1 atm (Carr et al., 1954) pressures and temperatures
(Carr et al., 1954)
50
NATURAL GAS PROPERTIES
Gas Viscosity cont,d
• If the composition of the natural gas mixture is
known, then the viscosity of the mixture at given
temperature and 1 atm pressure can be calculated
by:

  y MW 1/ 2

g 
gi i i

 y MW
1/ 2
i i

51
NATURAL GAS PROPERTIES

• With the advent of computers, many correlations

have been developed based on the published data to
replace
– Properties measured in the laboratory
– Properties obtained using graphical representation

• Thus, properties can be computerized and

numerically solved. Below is a summary of some
useful correlations.

52
NATURAL GAS PROPERTIES

• Correlations to
Calculate
Pseudocritical
Properties from γg

53
 NATURAL GAS PROPERTIES

• One of the commonly

used correlations to
calculate gas viscosity
is the correlation
developed by Lee et
al. (1966):

54
IMPORTANT DEFINITIONS

• Associated Gases: Gas associated with liquids.

• Non associated gases: Gas produced from gas wells
without liquids.
• Pipeline gas or Residue Gas or Sales Gas: Gas that
has the quality to be used as a domestic or industrial
fuel. It meets the specifications set by a pipeline
transmission company, and/or a distributing
company.
• Sour Gas: Natural gas which contains H2S and CO2
(acid gases).

55
IMPORTANT DEFINITIONS

• Wet Gas: When other hydrocarbons are present, the

natural gas is 'wet'.
• Dry Gas: Natural gas is considered 'dry' when it is
almost pure methane, having most of the other
commonly associated hydrocarbons removed.
• Rich Gas: Gas containing a lot of compounds heavier
than ethane, about 0.7 US gallons of C3+ per 1000
CF of feed to an absorption unit.
• Lean Gas: Gas containing very little propane and
heavier or the effluent gas from an absorption unit.
56
IMPORTANT DEFINITIONS

• Pentanes+: The pentane and heavier fraction of

hydrocarbon liquid.
• Condensates: The hydrocarbon liquid fraction
obtained from a gas stream containing essentially
Pentanes+.
• Natural gasoline: A specification product of a certain
vapour pressure.
• Lean Oil: Absorption oil sent to an absorber.

57
IMPORTANT DEFINITIONS

• Rich Oil: Absorption oil containing absorber material.

The effluent from an absorber.
• Lean Solution: A stripped sweetening solution.
• Rich Solution: A sweetening solution containing
absorbed acid gases.
• Sweet Gas: Natural gas which does not contain H2S
and CO2 (acid gases).

58
IMPORTANT DEFINITIONS

• Hydrated gas: Natural gas which contains H2O.

• Dehydrated gas: Natural gas after removal of H2O.
• LNG: Liquefied natural gas , mainly CH4
• LPG: Liquefied petroleum gases , “Commercial
Propane - butane mixture”
• Condensate: pentanes and heavier , C5+
• GTL: Gas to liquids.

59
IMPORTANT DEFINITIONS

• NGL: Natural gas liquids , ethane and heavier.

• SRU: Sulfur Recovery Unit
• Acid Gas : Feed stream to sulfur recovery plant
consisting H2S , CO2, H2O, and usually less than 2
mol % hydrocarbons.
• Claus Process: The process in which 1 3 of the H2S
in the acid gas feed is burned to SO2 which is then
reacted with the remaining H2S to produce sulfur.
This is also referred to as the modified Claus
process. ( H2S + 1 2O2 → S + H2O )
60
IMPORTANT DEFINITIONS

• Residence Time: the period of time in which a

process stream will be contained within a certain
volume or piece of equipment, seconds.
• Tail Gas Cleanup Unit: a process unit designed to
take tail gas from a Claus sulfur recovery plant and
remove additional sulfur with the goal of meeting
environmental sulfur emission standards.

61
NATURAL GAS DERIVATIVES
Fertilizer /Methanol/Olefin
Methane: / GTL Feedstock
Ethane : Petrochemical Feedstock.
Petrochemical Feedstock
Propane: or Fuel.
NATURAL I-Butane: Refinery Feedstock /
Fuel.
GAS
Gasoline Blending / Fuel
N-Butane: / Petrochemical
Feedstock.

Natural Gasoline
(IC5+)
Refinery Feedstock or
Petrochemical Feedstock.
Condensate

62
 Separation between the Oil &Gas
Sweetening remove the Acid Gases
Conditioning Dehydration remove the Water vapour
Main Target H.C Dew Point & Heating Value

-Extract main component into

separate products which are
Extraction (Processing) Methane
Main Target Ethane
Propone
LPG
Natural Gasoline 63
63
GAS PROCESSING CHAIN

64
GAS PROCESSING CHAIN

65
NATURAL GAS TREATMENT
PROCESSES
• Carbon dioxide is undesirable, because it reduces
the heating value of the gas and solidifies under the
high pressure and low temperatures used for
transporting natural gas
• For obtaining a sweet, dry natural gas, acid gases
must be removed and water vapor reduced, in
addition, natural gas with appreciable amounts of
heavy hydrocarbons should be treated for their
recovery as natural gas liquids

66
NATURAL GAS TREATMENT
PROCESSES

Acid Gas Treatment: Acid gases can be reduced

or removed by one or more of the following methods:
• Physical absorption using a selective absorption
solvent
• Physical adsorption using adsorption solvent
• Chemical absorption where a solvent (a chemical)
capable of reacting reversibly with the acid gases
is used

67
NATURAL GAS TREATMENT
PROCESSES
Physical Absorption
• Important processes commercially used are the Selexol,
the Sulfinol, and the Rectisol processes
• In these processes, no chemical reaction occurs between
the acid gas and the solvent.
• The solvent, or absorbent, is a liquid that selectively
absorbs the acid gases and leaves out the hydrocarbons
• In the Selexol process for example, the solvent is dimethyl
ether of polyethylene glycol.
• Raw natural gas passes countercurrently to the
descending solvent.
68
NATURAL GAS TREATMENT
PROCESSES
Physical Adsorption
• In these processes, a solid with a high surface area is
used. Molecular sieves (zeolites) are widely used and are
capable of adsorbing large amounts of gases.
• In practice, more than one adsorption bed is used for
continuous operation. One bed is in use while the other is
being regenerated.
• Regeneration is accomplished by passing hot dry fuel gas
through the bed.
• Molecular sieves are also capable of adsorbing water in
addition to the acid gases
69
NATURAL GAS TREATMENT
PROCESSES

Chemical Absorption (Chemisorption)

• These processes are characterized by a high
capability of absorbing large amounts of acid gases.
• They use a solution of a relatively weak base, such
as monoethanolamine.
• The acid gas forms a weak bond with the base which
can be regenerated easily. Mono- and
diethanolamines are frequently used for this purpose.

70
NATURAL GAS TREATMENT
PROCESSES
Water Removal
• Moisture must be removed from natural gas to reduce
corrosion problems and to prevent hydrate formation.
• Hydrates are solid white compounds formed from a
physical-chemical reaction between hydrocarbons and
water under the high pressures and low temperatures
used to transport natural gas via pipeline.
• Hydrates reduce pipeline efficiency.
• To prevent hydrate formation, natural gas may be treated
with glycols, which dissolve water efficiently.

71
NATURAL GAS TREATMENT
PROCESSES

Other Natural Gas Treatment Processes

• Condensable Hydrocarbon Recovery:
Hydrocarbons heavier than methane that are
present in natural gases are valuable raw
materials and important fuels
• They can be recovered by lean oil extraction

72
NATURAL GAS TREATMENT
PROCESSES

• The amount of NGL depends mainly on the

percentage of the heavier hydrocarbons present
in the gas and on the efficiency of the process
used to recover them.
• A high percentage is normally expected from
associated gas)

73
NATURAL GAS TREATMENT
PROCESSES
Natural gas liquids are normally fractionated to
separate them into three streams:
1. An ethane-rich stream, which is used for producing
ethylene.
2. Liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), which is a propane-
butane mixture. It is mainly used as a fuel or a
chemical feedstock. (e.g. feedstock for olefin
production).
3. Natural gasoline (NG) is mainly constituted of C5+
hydrocarbons and is added to gasoline to raise its
vapor pressure. Natural gasoline is usually sold
according to its vapor pressure. 74
NATURAL GAS TREATMENT
PROCESSES
Condensable Hydrocarbon Recovery
• The first step in this scheme is to cool the treated
gas by exchange with liquid propane
• The cooled gas is then washed with a cold
hydrocarbon liquid, which dissolves most of the
condensable hydrocarbons
• The uncondensed gas is dry natural gas and is
composed mainly of methane with small amounts
of ethane and heavier hydrocarbons

75
NATURAL GAS TREATMENT
PROCESSES
Condensable Hydrocarbon Recovery:
• The condensed hydrocarbons or natural gas
liquids (NGL) are stripped from the rich solvent,
which is recycled
• Dry natural gas may then be used either as a fuel
or as a chemical feedstock
• Another way to recover NGL is through cryogenic
cooling to very low temperatures (-150 to -1800F)
which are achieved primarily through adiabatic
expansion of the inlet gas
76
NATURAL GAS TREATMENT
PROCESSES
Cryogenic Cooling of NGL:
• The inlet gas is first treated to remove water and
acid gases, then cooled via heat exchange and
refrigeration
• Further cooling of the gas is accomplished
through turbo expanders, and the gas is sent to a
demethanizer to separate methane from NGL
• Improved NGL recovery could be achieved
through better control strategies and use of on-
line gas chromatographic analysis
77
NATURAL GAS TREATMENT
PROCESSES
Cryogenic Cooling of NGL:
• After the recovery of natural gas liquids, sweet
dry natural gas may be liquefied for transportation
through cryogenic tankers
• Further treatment may be required to reduce the
water vapor below 10ppm and carbon dioxide
and hydrogen sulfide to less than 100 and
50ppm, respectively.

78
NATURAL GAS TREATMENT
PROCESSES
• Amine gas treating, also known as gas sweetening
or acid gas removal, refers to a group of processes
that use aqueous solutions of various alkylamine
(commonly referred to simply as amines) to remove
hydrogen sulfide(H2S) and carbon dioxide(CO2) from
gases.
• Merox is an acronym for mercaptan oxidation. It is a
proprietary catalytic chemical process developed by
UOP used in oil refineries and natural gas processing
plants to remove mercaptans from LPG, propane,
butane, light naphtas, kerosene and jet fuel by
converting them to liquid hydrocarbon disulfides.
79
NATURAL GAS TREATMENT
PROCESSES
• The Claus process is the most significant gas
desulfurizing process, recovering elemental sulfur
from gaseous hydrogen sulfide.
• The multi-step Claus process recovers sulfur from the
gaseous hydrogen sulfide found in raw natural gas
and from the by-product gases containing hydrogen
sulfide derived from refining crude oil and other
industrial processes.

80
NATURAL GAS TREATMENT
PROCESSES
• The tail gas treatment process reduces sulfur vapor and
SO2 contained in the tail gas from the Claus process to
H2S and absorbs it in the absorbing solution (amine), and
returns it to the Claus process, thereby achieving a high
rate of sulfur recovery.
• Shell’s SCOT process is a representative TGT process.
It is composed of a section where the sulfur content is
reduced to H2S, and the section where H2S is absorbed
by amine.
• Although dependent on the feed gas composition, it yields
over 99.9% sulfur recovery rate in ordinary oil refining
plants and over 99.2% sulfur recovery in gas or LNG
plants
81
NATURAL GAS TREATMENT
PROCESSES
Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG)
• After the recovery of natural gas liquids, sweet dry natural
gas may be liquefied for transportation through cryogenic
tankers
• Further treatment may be required to reduce the water
vapor below 10 ppm and carbon dioxide and hydrogen
sulfide to less than 100 and 50 ppm, respectively
• Two methods are generally used to liquefy natural gas:
the expander cycle and mechanical refrigeration.

82
NATURAL GAS TREATMENT
PROCESSES
Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG)
• After the recovery of natural gas liquids, sweet dry natural
gas may be liquefied for transportation through cryogenic
tankers
• Further treatment may be required to reduce the water
vapor below 10 ppm and carbon dioxide and hydrogen
sulfide to less than 100 and 50 ppm, respectively
• Two methods are generally used to liquefy natural gas:
the expander cycle and mechanical refrigeration.

83
GAS CONDITIONING
GAS LIQUID SEPARATION

84
 GAS CONDITIONING (GAS LIQUID
SEPARATION)
• Large Vessels are used to
separate the gas, oil, water HP Gas

and sand using their different

LP Gas

densities.
HP Separator

• Sufficient time has to be given

LC LP Separator LC

to allow the water droplets to Heating/

Cooling
Heating/
Cooling

settle from the oil and vice Water

versa. Export

• Multiple stages are used to

liberate gas and remove
Cooling
Dehydration/
LC
Desalter

water. Pump

Water

85
GAS CONDITIONING (GAS LIQUID
SEPARATION)

• The number of stages is assessed balancing cost,

energy efficiency, effect on the reservoir and
safety.
• The separation process may require heating to
help destabilise oil-water emulsions.
• Chemicals are utilised to assist droplet
coalescence, break foams and prevent corrosion.
• To prevent remixing and effective separation the
separator is fitted with a range of devices.

86
 GAS CONDITIONING (GAS LIQUID
SEPARATION)
Separator Internals

• Internals design is often key

to efficient separator
operation.
– Inlet device to reduce liquid
momentum
(centrifugal/impingement)
– Distributor plate
– Coalesce pack to provide
surface area for small
droplets to coalesce to
larger ones, enhancing
liquid/liquid separation 87
GAS CONDITIONING (GAS LIQUID
SEPARATION)
Separator Internals

– Vane packs or demisters to collect oil

droplets from the gas
– Vortex breakers to prevent gas underflow
– Sand jets to remove sand from the separator
– Foam packs

88
GAS CONDITIONING (GAS LIQUID
SEPARATION)
Separator Internals

Baffle Plate Set Inlet Diffuser & Cascade Tray

Cyclone Inlet Device

Cyclone Inlet Device Foam Reducing Pack Assembly

with
Perforated Baffle Plate
89
GAS CONDITIONING (GAS LIQUID
SEPARATION)
Separator Internals

• Horizontal Separators
– Large liquid handling capacity

– Sufficient time for settle out

of liquid droplets from the gas

• Vertical Separators
(scrubbers)
– High gas volumes

– Small footprint area

90
GAS CONDITIONING (GAS LIQUID
SEPARATION)
Separator Features
– Primary separation section to separate the bulk of the
liquid from the gas
– Sufficient capacity to handle liquid surges
– Sufficient liquid residence time to allow small droplets to
settle out
– Some inlet device to reduce turbulence and velocity in
the main separation section
– A mist extractor to capture entrained droplets
– Back pressure and liquid level controls
– Relief and blowdown
– Sand washing 91
GAS CONDITIONING
GAS SWEETENING

92
GAS CONDITIONING (GAS
SWEETENING)
Definitions
– Raw gas: natural gas with H2S and CO2
– Desulphurised gas: Natural gas from which the
H2S and CO2 have been removed
– Sour (or acid) gas: Any gas which form an acid
when mixed with water
– Gas sweetnening (or deacidification): Process
whereby the acid gas is removed from the raw
gas

93
GAS CONDITIONING (GAS
SWEETENING)
Definitions
– Amine: General name given to chemicals used
to absorb acid gas in raw gas.
– Absorption: Taking a fluid from another fluid
e.g. H2S and CO2 absorbed in the amine
solution
– Regeneration: Restoring the fluid absorbed in
chemical absorption
– Amine concentration: Quantity of amine
contained in the water / amine solution
(mixture)
94
 GAS CONDITIONING (GAS
SWEETENING)
• Sweetening process is to remove acid gases from
natural gases.
• This can be done either by adsorption or
absorption processes.
• The most famous ADSORPTION process is solid
desiccant beds which can perform Sweetening
and dehydration for natural gas at the same time
with higher efficiency.
• The most famous ABSORPTION process is amine
deacidification.
95
 GAS CONDITIONING (GAS
SWEETENING)
• Natural gas essentially contains:
– Methane C1
– Ethane C2
– Propane C3
– Butane C4
– Gas-oil C5+ (comprising a number of
different hydrocarbons such as pentane,
hexane and heptane …)

96
 GAS CONDITIONING (GAS
SWEETENING)
• Natural gas also contains impurities including:
– Hydrogen sulphide (H2S)
– Carbon dioxide (CO2)
– Carbonyl sulphides (COS)

• Natural gas which contains these impurities is

known as raw gas or acid (or sour) gas.

97
GAS CONDITIONING (GAS
SWEETENING)
Definitions of Impurities
– Hydrogen sulphide (H2S)
• Is extremely toxic and corrosive
• May be flammable when permanently or accidentally
exposed to the atmosphere
– Carbon dioxide or CO2
• Is present in all deposits in extremely varied concentrations
• Is corrosive in the presence of water
• reduces the calorific value of natural gas. It crystallises
easily at low temperatures
– Carbonyl sulphide (COS) and carbon disulphide:
• their presence is linked to a high H2S content in a gas
effluent

98
GAS CONDITIONING (GAS
SWEETENING)
• Why must these impurities be removed?
– To reach the specifications of commercial or injection
gas
– In addition, acid gas causes corrosion problems
mainly in the presence of free water

• Commercial specifications:
– Hydrogen sulphide (H2S)
• H2S content is generally between 1.5 and 4 ppm vol. at the most

– Carbon dioxide (CO2)

• CO2 is present in a maximum molar concentration of 2 to 3 %

99
 GAS CONDITIONING (GAS
SWEETENING)
AMINE PROCESS
• Amine deacidification (DEA, MEA, MDEA)
– Aim: remove H2S and CO2 from the raw gas

– Reason:

• These gases pose problems in the downstream

treatment processes

• H2S is also a highly noxious gas

– Solution
Use of an amine solution to sweeten the raw gas

100
GAS CONDITIONING (GAS
SWEETENING)
CHEMICAL ABSORPTION

101
GAS CONDITIONING (GAS
SWEETENING)

102
GAS CONDITIONING (GAS
SWEETENING)

103
GAS CONDITIONING (GAS
SWEETENING)

104
GAS CONDITIONING (GAS
SWEETENING)
Physical Properties of Gas Treating Chemicals
“weak bases”

Mono- Di-Ethanolamine Tri-Ethanolamine

Property Ethanolamine

Formula HOC2H4NH2 (HOC2H4)2NH (HOC2H4)3N

Molecular Wt 61.08 105.14 148.19

Boiling point @ 170.5 269 360 (decompose)

760 mm Hg, °C

Density @ 20°C, 1018 1095 1124

kg/m3.
105
GAS CONDITIONING (GAS
SWEETENING)
PRINCIPLE OF AMINE DEACIDIFICATION
– Principle
• At a low temperature and a high pressure,
the amine reacts with the H2S and the CO2
and easily absorbs these gases
(absorption).
• At a high temperature and a low pressure,
the H2S and the CO2 can easily be
separated from the amine (regeneration).

106
GAS CONDITIONING (GAS
SWEETENING)
– Absorption
• An amine solution is an alkaline solution which attracts and
absorbs acid gases such as H2S and CO2.

• This process takes place in a column known as a

“contactor”.

• When the desulphurised gas is emitted from the top of the

column, it contains less than 16ppm (parts per million) of
H2S and less than 50ppm of CO2

• When the desulphurised gas leaves the top of the column, it

contains less than 16ppm of H2S and less than 50ppm of
CO2.

• The amine which is emitted from the bottom of the column

has absorbed large quantities of acid gas (H2S and CO2) and
is known as “rich amine”. The rich amine must be
regenerated before it can be used again.
107
GAS CONDITIONING (GAS
SWEETENING)
– Amine contactor (absorption column)
• Aim: de-acidify the raw gas using the amine solution
– Put the lean (regenerated) amine in contact with the raw
gas
– All of the acid gas must be absorbed by the amine solution
– The gas at the head of the column must be clean (less than
16 ppm H2S)
• Principle:
– The lean amine solution enters through the top of the
column
– It passes down the column and fills the front tray before
moving down to the next trays
– When flowing on the trays, the amine takes up the sour
(acid) gases H2S +CO2
– When the raw gas flows up through the amine it loses its
sour (acid) gas .
108
GAS CONDITIONING (GAS
SWEETENING)
– Amine contactor (absorption column)
– As the amine solution moves down the column and the
gas moves up it, each fluid must pass between the holes
of each tray.
– These opposing fluids are known as counter-current
fluids.
– The counter-current creates contact between each fluid
and allows the acid gas to be absorbed by the amine
solution.
– When in contact with the amine, the raw gas releases the
acid gases H2S and CO2 and the amine takes up the acid
gases
– The high pressure and low temperature in the column
allow the H2S and the CO2 to be absorbed by the amine.
– The circulating amine moves down each tray and absorbs
increasing quantities of H2S and CO2.
109
GAS CONDITIONING (GAS
SWEETENING)
– Amine contactor (absorption column)
– When the amine reaches the bottom of the column, it is
practically saturated with H2S and CO2 which have been
absorbed from the raw gas.

– This saturated amine is known as a rich amine. It must be

regenerated before it can be used again.

– When the gas reaches the top of the absorption column,

nearly all the acid gas has been removed. The gas at the
top of the column consists mainly of hydrocarbon.

– The hydrocarbon gas which contains little or no H2S and

CO2 is known as a purified gas. The purified gas emitted
from the top of the column continues towards the process
for commercial gas or reinjected gas “particularly for
offshore activities”.

110
GAS CONDITIONING (GAS
SWEETENING)
– Amine contactor (absorption column)
– The chemical reaction produced when the amine solution
absorbs the H2S and the CO2 is an “exothermal” reaction.
This means that it produces heat. The amine solution in
the column can be very hot.

– Tray no. 8 is a routed tray

All the liquid entering this tray is sucked in and pumped
through the cooler.

111
GAS CONDITIONING (GAS
SWEETENING)
REGENERATION

112
GAS CONDITIONING (GAS
SWEETENING)

– Regeneration
• The removal of acid gas from the rich amine is
known as “regeneration”
• The operation is carried out in a column known as
an “amine regenerator”. The regenerated amine is
known as a “lean amine”.
• Low-pressure vapour (4-5 bars) is used for the
regeneration of the rich solution in most
processes, particularly those using amine
solutions

113
GAS CONDITIONING (GAS
SWEETENING)
• Amine Regeneration
• Aim:
– To place the rich amine solution in contact with the amine
vapours from the reboilers and separate the H2S and the
CO2 from the rich amine

– To send the regenerated amine back into the absorption

column via the storage tank

• Principle:
– The regeneration column transforms the rich amine back
into lean amine by separating the H2S and the CO2 from
the amine solution. This is known as “regeneration”.

– The rich amine is regenerated at a low pressure and a

high temperature to encourage separation.
114
GAS CONDITIONING (GAS
SWEETENING)
• Amine Regeneration
• Operation
– The rich amine solution enters the regeneration
column through the top part of the column.
– It is heated by the DEA vapours that pass through
the rich amine at counter current absorb the acid
gas (H2S and CO2) and the amine releases the acid
gas, which travel through the column.
– As the temperature increases, the rich amine emits
increasing quantities of acid gas (H2S and CO2)
– This acid gas is emitted from the top of the column.

115
GAS CONDITIONING (GAS
SWEETENING)
• Amine Deacidification (Some important equipment)
• Reboiler
• Aim:
- The reboiler is at the bottom of the regeneration
column providing heat to the column to evaporate part
of the water still contained in the amine solution.
- This vapour is used as stripping vapour, thereby
enhancing the separation of the acid gas from the
amine solution
- The amine solution releases acid gas at a
temperature of 100°C and above.
- Low-pressure vapour (4-5 bars) is used to regenerate
the rich solution in most processes. sure and a high
temperature to encourage separation. 116
GAS CONDITIONING (GAS
SWEETENING)
• Amine Deacidification (Some important equipment)
• Reboiler cont’d
• Principle:
– Some of the lean amine
passes through reboilers
where it is heated to a
high temperature.

– This lean amine returns

to the column in the form
of vapour.

– This vapour moves up the column and absorbs H2S and

CO2

– It gradually condenses as it moves up to the trays in

contact with the coldest amine.
117
GAS CONDITIONING (GAS
SWEETENING)
• Amine Deacidification (Some important equipment)
• Head condenser & reflux drum
• Aim:
To prevent entrainment of the amine in the effluents at
the head of the column (loss of amine)

• Principle:
– The acid gas is entrained to the top of the column by
amine vapours.
– The vapours are cooled in the head condenser.
– The acid gases are separated from the condensates
in the reflux drum.
– The condensates in the reflux drum are sent back to
the top of the column.
118
GAS CONDITIONING (GAS
SWEETENING)
• Amine Deacidification (Some important equipment)
• Head condenser & reflux drum (cont’d)
• Principle (cont'd):

– This cold reflux condenses the hot amine

vapours in the gas vapours inside the column.

– The acid gas is emitted from the top of the

column into the reflux drum where pressure is
regulated and either enters treatment units or is
burned at the flare.

119
GAS CONDITIONING (GAS
SWEETENING)
• Amine Deacidification (Some important equipment)
• Heat Exchangers
• Aim:
An exchanger is a device that heats or cools a
fluid by means of exchange with another
circulating fluid at a different temperature

120
GAS CONDITIONING (GAS
SWEETENING)
• Amine Deacidification (Some important equipment)
• Heat Exchangers cont’d
• Equipment:
– series of tubes mounted on two tubular plates
– shell
– baffles
– distribution
boxes

121
GAS CONDITIONING (GAS
SWEETENING)
• Amine Deacidification (Some important equipment)
• Amine recirculation pump
• Aim:

They transport the lean amine from the regeneration column

to the absorption column

• Principle:

– The lean amine solution circulates from the bottom of the

regeneration column through the recirculation pumps.

– The main flow (approx. 90% of the lean amine solution)

returns to the absorption column through the head
exchanger

– The cooler (head exchanger) reduces the temperature of

the amine before it enters the absorption column. 122
GAS CONDITIONING (GAS
SWEETENING)
• Amine Deacidification (Some important equipment)
• Lean Amine air cooler
• Aim:
Coolers are used to control the amine temperature which is
cooler than the raw gas temperature when it enters the
absorption column.

• Reason:
At this temperature :
– The lean amine absorbs the acid gas
– The hydrocarbons are not condensed or absorbed by the
solution
If the amine is too hot, it will not absorb the acid gas
If the amine is too cold, it will absorb the hydrocarbons
123
GAS CONDITIONING (GAS
SWEETENING)
Amine Deacidification Location
• The deacidification unit is located in the gas
treatment section upstream from the gas
compression.

124
GAS CONDITIONING
GAS DEHYDRATION

125
GAS CONDITIONING (GAS
DEHYDRATION)
• Introduction
When the gas is at reservoir temperature and pressure, it
is generally saturated with water.

– Water is responsible for:

• most types of corrosion when it is associated
– with acid gases (H2S and CO2)
– or salts (calcium carbonates)
• hydrate formation

The gas therefore has to be processed to remove the

water it contains.
126
GAS CONDITIONING (GAS
DEHYDRATION)
• Purpose of dehydration:
– Treat to obtain hydrocarbons which meet the
specifications
– Optimise recovery of the hydrocarbons
– Discharge the non-marketable effluents
– Protect persons and installations
– Facilitate transport in the pipelines (corrosion)
– Prevent corrosion problems in the lift gas or injection
gas systems.
– Prevent hydrate formation 127
 GAS CONDITIONING (GAS
DEHYDRATION)
• Dehydration process is to remove water vapor from
natural gases.
• This can be done either by adsorption or absorption
processes. (gas 2 solid) (gas 2 liquid)

• The most famous adsorption process is solid

desiccant beds which can perform Sweetening &
Dehydration for natural gas at the same time with
higher efficiency according to its material affinity and
pour size .
• The most famous absorption process is Glycol unit.

128
 GAS CONDITIONING (GAS
DEHYDRATION)
Water in NG :

• Most free associated water removed by simple

extraction method at or near wellhead
• Water vapor in NG solution need more complex
treatment
• Process of dehydration of NG – absorption or
adsorption
• Pipeline specs: 7.0 lb H2O/MMSCF

129
 GAS CONDITIONING (GAS
DEHYDRATION)
Hydrate Formation:

• How do they form?

– Presence of liquid water

Example: liquid water released by the gas during a change in

the pressure or temperature conditions

– Presence of light hydrocarbons

Only the first four hydrocarbons (methane, ethane, propane,
butane) are likely to form hydrates in presence of liquid water
(risk of hydrates in the presence of CO2 or d’H2S)

– Favourable conditions: temperature and pressure

Hydrate formation conditions: pressure must be sufficiently
high and its temperature sufficiently low 130
 GAS CONDITIONING (GAS
DEHYDRATION)
Hydrate Formation:
• Why is it a problem?
– Hydrate formation leads to:
• blocking of the pipes and equipment
• production shutdown
• risks of overpressure in the installations.
– water deposition due to condensation in the pipes or free water
from the reservoir may cause large pressure drops with risks of:
• "water hammer" effects due to the liquid slugs
• erosion
– Water is responsible for most types of corrosion when it is
associated with
• acid gases (H2S and CO2)
• or salts (calcium carbonates).
131
GAS CONDITIONING (GAS
DEHYDRATION)

Hydrate Formation:

132
 GAS CONDITIONING (GAS
DEHYDRATION)
Hydrate Formation:
• Why is it a problem ?

If a pipe becomes blocked by hydrates, the hydrate

block adheres so strongly to the pipe walls and is so
hard that it cannot be removed by any normal
mechanical means.

• Commercial gas
– H2S content: 1.5 to 4 ppm
– Total sulphur and contaminants: 50 to 150 mg/Sm3
– CO2 content: 2 to 3% molar mass
– Water dew point: - 15°C at 70 bar
– Hydrocarbon dew point: - 2°C at 70 bar 133
 GAS CONDITIONING (GAS
DEHYDRATION)
Hydrates in natural gas systems:
• A hydrate is a physical combination of water and other
small molecules to produce a solid which has an “ice-like”
appearance but possesses a different structure than ice. , it
cause impediments to flow.
• There are three recognized crystalline structures I,II,H
• Their formation in gas and/or NGL systems can plug
pipelines, equipment, and instruments, restricting or for
such hydrates. In both, water molecules build the lattice
and hydrocarbons, nitrogen, CO2 and H2S occupy the
cavities.

134
 GAS CONDITIONING (GAS
DEHYDRATION)
Hydrates in natural gas systems:
• Smaller molecules (CH4, C2H6, CO2, H2S) stabilize a
body-centered cubic called Structure I.
• Larger molecules (C3H8, i- C4H10, n - C4H10) form a
diamond-lattice called Structure II.
• Normal paraffin molecules larger than n- C4H10 do not
form Structure I and II hydrates as they are too large to
stabilize the lattice.
• However, some iso paraffins and cyclo –alkanes larger
than pentane are known to form Structure H hydrates.

135
 GAS CONDITIONING (GAS
DEHYDRATION)
Hydrates in natural gas systems:

Hydrocarbons (C1,C2,C3,iC4+nC4)
and / or H2S, N2, CO2
+
Metastable H20
@
(P, T)
------------------------------------------
=
HYDRATES

Metastable water is liquid water which, at

equilibrium, will exist as a hydrate
136
 GAS CONDITIONING (GAS
DEHYDRATION)
Conditions for hydrates formation:
Primary Considerations
• Gas or liquid must be at or below its water dew point or
saturation condition. To allow water droplet condensation
• Temperature.
• Pressure.
• Composition.

137
 GAS CONDITIONING (GAS
DEHYDRATION)
Conditions for hydrates formation:
Secondary Considerations
• Mixing.
• Kinetics
• Physical site for crystal formation such as a pipe elbow,
orifice, thermowell, or line .
• scale.
• Salinity.

138
 GAS CONDITIONING (GAS
DEHYDRATION)
Hydrate Inhibition:

• The formation of hydrates can be prevented by

dehydrating the gas or liquid to eliminate the
formation of a condensed water (liquid or solid) phase.
• In some cases, however, dehydration may not be
practical or economically feasible.
• In these cases, chemical inhibition can be an
effective method of preventing hydrate formation.

139
 GAS CONDITIONING (GAS
DEHYDRATION)
Hydrate Inhibition cont’d:
• Chemical inhibition utilizes injection of thermodynamic inhibitors
or low dosage hydrate inhibitors (LDHIs).

• Thermodynamic inhibitors are the traditional inhibitors (i.e., one

of the glycols or methanol), which lower the temperature of
hydrate diminish formation “Th”

• LDHIs are either kinetic hydrate inhibitors (KHIs) or anti -

agglomerants (AAs).

• They do not lower the temperature of hydrate formation, but do

its effect.

140
 GAS CONDITIONING (GAS
DEHYDRATION)
Methods of dehydration:
Liquid desiccants (glycols)
– Principle:
• Absorption section
– The glycol absorbs water
– The gas circulates from
bottom to top
– the regenerated glycol
is injected at the top
of the absorber

141
 GAS CONDITIONING (GAS
DEHYDRATION)
Methods of dehydration:
Liquid desiccants (glycols) cont’d
– Principle:
• Regeneration section
– water-laden glycol is drawn off from the flash drum

– series of filters

– glycol flows down through the column

– exits the column towards the reboiler for regeneration

– the water vapour exits the distillation column in the reverse

direction

– the concentrated glycol exits the reboiler via

a weir
142
 GAS CONDITIONING (GAS
DEHYDRATION)

Methods of dehydration:
Liquid desiccants (glycols) cont’d

– Performances
• most commonly used process
• dew point -15 to -20 °C at 70 bars
• use of TEG preferred (Triethylene glycol)

143
 GAS CONDITIONING (GAS
DEHYDRATION)
Methods of dehydration:
Liquid desiccants (glycols) cont’d
– Scope of application
• protection of treatment units by cooling
• protection of collection systems when there is no
salt water ingress or when there are WKOs at the
well head.
• protection on medium distance pipes.
• subsea wells when there is no salt water ingress.
• upstream of long-distance gas lines
• protection of downstream lines
• upstream of the turboexpander
• presence of CO2 --> corrosion
144
 GAS CONDITIONING (GAS
DEHYDRATION)
Methods of dehydration:
Liquid desiccants (glycols) cont’d
Not recommended in the following cases :
• long lines subject to corrosion, sea lines,
• long pipes with many low points (there is a danger
of the glycol being unevenly distributed over the
whole of the facility).
• production of salt water (contamination by salts from
the DEG at regeneration).

145
 GAS CONDITIONING (GAS
DEHYDRATION)
Methods of dehydration:
Liquid desiccants (Methanol)
– Inhibition by methanol (not recovered)
• Scope of application:
– small installations
– seasonal injection
– small quantity of gas
– subsea wells
– short lines
– stand-alone installation
– commissioning after testing
• Not recommended in the following cases:
– long lines
– prohibitive quantity to be injected 146
 GAS CONDITIONING (GAS
DEHYDRATION)
Methods of dehydration:
Liquid desiccants (Methanol)

– Inhibition by methanol (regenerated)

• Scope of application:
– developments with subsea wells
– long distances
• Not recommended in the following cases:
– lines which are impossible to repair
– prohibitive quantity to be injected
147
 GAS CONDITIONING (GAS
DEHYDRATION)
Methods of dehydration:
Solid desiccants (Adsorption)
– property of certain solids (= desiccants) to fix certain
molecules on their surface.

148
 GAS CONDITIONING (GAS
DEHYDRATION)
Methods of dehydration:
Solid desiccants (Adsorption)
The main desiccants are:
• Alumina: Good activity but becomes deteriorated by
absorbing the heavy hydrocarbons which are not eliminated
by heating.

• Silicagels: These are highly active amorphous substances,

which are easy to regenerate and which adsorb the heavy
hydrocarbons to a lesser degree. They are sensitive to liquid
water.

• Molecular sieves: These consist of zeolite crystals

149
 GAS CONDITIONING (GAS
DEHYDRATION)
Methods of dehydration:
Advantages and disadvantages of the various processes

– Inhibition by glycol with regeneration

• Advantages:
– low glycol consumption in simple regeneration
(little vaporisation in the gas)
– no pollution problem (water eliminated during the
vapour phase).
– safe storage (low volatility product).

150
 GAS CONDITIONING (GAS
DEHYDRATION)
Methods of dehydration:
Advantages and disadvantages of the various processes
• Disadvantages:
– presence of liquid in the transport facility
(injection flow rate higher than that of the
methanol)
– corrosion if H2S or CO2 present
– difficulties (or impossibility) to regenerate if salt
water present
– gas does not meet the specifications
151
 GAS CONDITIONING (GAS
DEHYDRATION)
Methods of dehydration:
Advantages and disadvantages of the various processes
– Inhibition by methanol (not recovered)

• Advantages:
– simple to install
– low investments
– small equipment size
– good reliability

152
 GAS CONDITIONING (GAS
DEHYDRATION)
Methods of dehydration:
Advantages and disadvantages of the various processes
• Disadvantages:
– creation of a two-phase flow
– corrosion if H2S or CO2 present
– high operating costs
– methanol supply
– storage (safety)
– gas does not meet the commercial standards with
respect to water content.
153
 GAS CONDITIONING (GAS
DEHYDRATION)
Methods of dehydration:
Advantages and disadvantages of the various processes
– Inhibition by methanol with regeneration
• Advantages:
– good reliability
– no water discharge
• Disadvantages:
– presence of liquid in the lines
– corrosion if H2S / CO2 present
– loss of methanol (50%)
– complex to install
– gas does not meet specifications
154
 GAS CONDITIONING (GAS
DEHYDRATION)
Location of dehydration unit:

155
NGL OR LIQUID RECOVERY

156
 INTRODUCTION

• The term NGL (natural gas liquids) is a general term

which applies to liquids recovered from natural gas and
as such refers to ethane and heavier products.
• The recovery of light hydrocarbon liquids from natural
gas streams can range from simple dew point control
to deep ethane extraction.
• The desired degree of liquid recovery has a profound
effect on process selection, complexity and cost of the
processing facility.

157
 INTRODUCTION

• The term NGL (natural gas liquids) is a general term

which applies to liquids recovered from natural gas and
as such refers to ethane and heavier products.
• The recovery of light hydrocarbon liquids from natural
gas streams can range from simple dew point control
to deep ethane extraction.
• The desired degree of liquid recovery has a profound
effect on process selection, complexity and cost of the
processing facility.

158
INTRODUCTION
• Modern gas processing facilities produce a
single ethane plus product (normally called Y-grade)
which is often sent offsite for further
fractionation and processing.
• Whether accomplished on-site or at another facility,
the mixed product will be further fractionated to
make products such as purity ethane, ethane-
propane (EP), commercial propane, iso-butane, n-
butane, mixed butanes, butane-gasoline (BG)
and gasoline (or stabilized condensate).
• The degree of fractionation which occurs is market
and geographically dependent.
159
GAS COMPOSITION

• The gas composition has a major impact on the

economics of NGL recovery and the process
selection.

• In general, gas with a greater quantity of liquefiable

hydrocarbons produces a greater quantity of
products and hence greater revenues for the gas
processing facility.

160
GAS COMPOSITION

• Richer gas also entails larger refrigeration

duties, larger heat exchange surfaces and
higher capital cost for a given recovery
efficiency.
• Leaner gases generally require more severe
processing conditions (lower temperatures) to
achieve high recovery efficiencies.

161
LIQUID RECOVERY

• Gases are typically characterized by the gallons per

thousand cubic feet of recoverable
hydrocarbons in the gas.

• This is commonly expressed as “GPM.” and is

determined by the following relation:
(gal/mol) * Mole fraction
GPM 
379.49 scf/lb mol
• GPM was traditionally meant to apply to propane and
heavier components but is often used to include
ethane.
162
LIQUID RECOVERY

• The other major consideration in the evaluation of

NGL recovery options is the specification of the
residue sales gas.
• Sales specifications are usually concerned with a
minimum Higher Heating Value (HHV) of the gas, but
in some instances the maximum HHV can also be a
consideration.
• In general, sales gas specifications set the minimum
HHV at 950-1000 BTU/scf.

163
LIQUID RECOVERY

• Thus, if any components such as nitrogen or CO2

are present in the gas, sufficient ethane and heavier
components must remain in the gas to meet the
heating value specification.
• If little nitrogen or CO2 is present in the gas, the
recovery level of the ethane and heavier
components is then limited by markets, cost of
recovery and gas value.

164
LIQUID RECOVERY

• Removal of liquids results in gas “shrinkage” and

reduction of the HHV.
• This shrinkage represents a loss of revenue for
the gas sales which must be considered in the
economics of an NGL recovery plant.

165
PROBLEM
• Find the GPM of the gas mixture.
• Find the available gal/day of the C2+ components in
the gas mixture if the gas capacity is 330 MMSCFD.
• Find the HHV of the feed gas and the HHV of the
residue gas with the following NGL recovery
efficiencies: C2 – 90%, C3 – 98%, iC4 /nC4 – 99%,
C5+ – 100%.
• What is the shrinkage cost at $2/MMBTU?

166
Componen Feed gas Gal / mole HHV
t composition Btu/scf
Mole %
N2 1.0 6.4532 0
CO2 3.0 4.1513 0
C1 85 6.4172 1010
C2 5.8 10.126 1769.6
C3 3.0 10.433 2516.1
i-C4 0.7 12.386 3262.3
n-C4 0.8 11.937 3251.9
i-C5 0.2 13.860 4008.9
n-C5 0.3 13.713 4000.9
C6+ 0.2 15.566 4755.9
167
GPM CALCULATIONS

168
HHV CALCULATIONS

169
SHRINKAGE CALCULATIONS

Shrinkage Value = [(330 * 1115.01) – (295.862 *

971.24)]*2
= $161,201/day

170
 DEW POINT CONTROL

• To prevent the formation of liquids in the system, it is

necessary to control the hydrocarbon dew point below
the pipeline operating conditions.
• Since the pipeline operating conditions are usually
fixed by design and environmental considerations,
single-phase flow can only be assured by removal of
the heavier hydrocarbons from the gas.

171
 DEW POINT CONTROL

• Dew point calculations for a gas stream leaving a

separator at 100°F and 1000 psia.
• These dew point curves show that as the pressure is
reduced, liquid is formed.
•
• The heavier the hydrocarbon, the more the dew point
temperature increases as the pressure is lowered.
• The cricondentherm of the dew point curve is
primarily determined by the nature of the heaviest
component in the gas rather than the total quantity of
the heavy component in the feed gas.
172
173
REDUCTION OF HYDROCARBON
DEW POINT
Two methods can be used to reduce the
hydrocarbon dew point:
 Expansion refrigeration in an LTS
 Mechanical refrigeration system

174
 LOW TEMPERATURE SEPARATION

• If sufficient pressure is available, the removal can be

accomplished by expansion refrigeration in an LTS (Low
Temperature Separation) unit.
• The expansion refrigeration system uses the Joule-Thomson
effect to reduce the gas temperature upon expansion.
• This temperature reduction results in not only hydrocarbon
liquid condensation but also water condensation.

175
 LOW TEMPERATURE SEPARATION

• The water is generally removed as hydrates in this

process, melted and removed.
• Thus, the process can actually accomplish dew point
control of both water and hydrocarbon in a single unit.
• The hydrocarbon and water dew points achievable with
this process are limited by the pressure differential
available as well as the composition of the feed gas.
• It is an attractive process step if sufficient liquid
removal can be achieved at the available operating
conditions.
176
LOW TEMPERATURE SEPARATION

• A further modification to this process is to add glycol

injection to the high pressure gas to allow the
achievement of lower water dew points when
available pressure is limited.
• The use of the glycol eliminates the need to heat the
LTS liquid phase and helps to ensure that no
hydrate formation will block the process equipment
upstream of the LTS separator.

177
 LOW-TEMPERATURE SEPARATION SYSTEM WITH
GLYCOL INJECTION AND CONDENSATE STABILIZATION

178
STRAIGHT REFRIGERATION PROCESS

• Often excess pressure is not available to operate an

LTS system.
• An alternative to the expansion refrigeration system
is to utilize a mechanical refrigeration system to
remove heavy hydrocarbon components and reduce
the gas dew point.
• The schematic for a refrigeration dew point control
unit is shown in Fig.

179
STRAIGHT REFRIGERATION PROCESS

180
STRAIGHT REFRIGERATION PROCESS

• The gas pressure is generally maintained through the

process allowing for equipment pressure drops.
• The gas is heat exchanged and then cooled by the
refrigeration chiller to a specified temperature.
• Liquid is separated in the cold separator. The
temperature of the separator is set to provide the
desired dew point margin for sales gas operations.
• This temperature specification must take into account
the gas which is recombined from the liquid stabilization
step as well as potential variations in the feed gas
pressure.
181
STRAIGHT REFRIGERATION PROCESS
• Provision must be made in this process for hydrate
prevention.
• This can be accomplished by either dehydration
upstream of the unit or by integrating the dehydration
with the refrigeration unit.
• Use of glycol injection is usually the most cost effective
means of controlling water dew points.
• The only drawback is that the refrigeration must be in
operation to accomplish the dehydration. If it is desired
to operate the dehydration at times independent of the
refrigeration, then separate units are used.
182
STRAIGHT REFRIGERATION PROCESS

• The process can be used for high propane recovery

(-40 0F) and in the case of rich gases, for reasonable
quantities of ethane recovery.

• The recovery level is a strong function of the feed gas

pressure, gas composition and temperature level in the
refrigeration chiller.

183
184
185
186
PROCESS ALTERNATIVES

• There are many variations in the straight refrigeration

process. The commonly used variations are:
 Type “A”
 Type “B”
 Type “C”
 Type “D”

187
Type “A”

188
Type “A”

• In the type A, the gas is cooled against the residue gas

and the cold separator liquid before being chilled with
refrigeration.
• This scheme uses a top-feed fractionator with the
overhead being recompressed and recycled to the inlet.
• The use of the liquid /feed gas exchanger helps reduce
the chiller load.
• In this case, the residue gas from the cold separator
has a dew point of the cold separator operating
conditions.

189
Type “A”

Any one or a combination of the following

conditions:
• Lower separator pressure (around 600 psig)
• Leaner gas (below 3 GPM C3+)
• Recovery includes ethane will lead to lower recycle /
recompressor rates.

190
Type “B”

191
Type “B”

• Type “B” also uses a top-feed fractionator, but the cold

separator liquid is fed directly to the fractionator.
• This fractionator operates with a lower overhead
temperature which justifies exchange with the refrigeration
system.
• The overhead after being warmed is recompressed and
blended with the residue gas from the cold separator.
• In this configuration the fractionator overhead usually raises
the residue gas dew point somewhat.
• The cold separator temperature must be set to ensure that
the desired dew point specification of the combined stream
is achieved.
192
Type “C”

193
Type “C”
• Type “C” uses a refluxed fractionator.
• This type design usually has the highest liquid
recovery efficiency, but has a higher cost due to the
overhead system added.

194
Type “B” & “C”

Any one or a combination of the following conditions:

• Higher separator pressure.
• Richer gas.
• Recovery limited to propane-plus lead to higher
recycle/recompressor rates.

• This results in more refrigeration horsepower, more

recompressor horsepower, more fractionator heat and
larger equipment.

195
Type “D”

196
Type “D”
• Type “D” can be used where the cold separator liquid
can be pumped and the stabilizer run at an elevated
pressure.

• This eliminates the need for a recompressor.

• Type D is used if the separator pressure is not

higher than 400-450 psig.

• Separator pressure below 400 psig, especially with

lean gas, will result in poor product recovery.

197
 STABILIZATION

• One of the problems in using dew point control units of

both expansion LTS and mechanical refrigeration
systems is the disposition of the liquids removed.

• The liquids must be stabilized by flashing to lower

pressure or by the use of a stabilization column.

• When the condensate is flashed to a lower pressure,

light hydrocarbons are liberated which may be
disposed of in a fuel gas system.
198
 STABILIZATION

• The stabilization column can produce a higher quality

and better controlled product. The condensate
stabilizer is usually a top feed column which runs at a
reduced pressure from the cold separator and has a
reboiler to produce a specified vapor pressure product.
• The column contains either trays or packing to provide
necessary mass transfer for stabilization of the liquid
feed.
• After stabilization, the product is cooled and sent to
storage.

199
LEAN OIL ABSORPTION
• Lean oil is usually a mixture of paraffinic compounds
having a molecular weight between 100 and 200.

• The lean oil process requires large processing

equipment with excessive energy requirements.

• A refrigerated system enhances the recovery of lighter

hydrocarbon products such as ethane and propane.

200
REFRIGERATED LEAN OIL ABSORPTION

• Raw gas enters the plant inlet separator upstream of

the main process where inlet liquids are separated.

• The gas then enters a series of heat exchangers where

cold process gas and the refrigerant reduce the feed
gas temperature.

• This reduction in temperature results in condensation of

the heavier hydrocarbons in the inlet gas.

201
REFRIGERATED LEAN OIL ABSORPTION

202
REFRIGERATED LEAN OIL ABSORPTION

• Countercurrent flow of gas & lean oil in the absorber.

• The lean oil has also been chilled to aid in NGL absorption.
• This column has trays or packing which increase the contact
of the gas and lean oil.
• The lean oil physically absorbs the heavier hydrocarbons
from the gas.
• The lighter components stay in the gas and leave the top of
the absorber.
• The oil and absorbed hydrocarbons leave the bottom of the
absorber as “rich oil.”

203
REFRIGERATED LEAN OIL ABSORPTION

• The rich oil flows to the Rich Oil Demethanizer (ROD)

where heat is applied to the rich oil stream to drive out
the lighter hydrocarbons which were absorbed.
• Some of the cold lean oil is also fed to the top of the
ROD to prevent loss of desirable NGLs from the rich oil.
• The rich oil from the ROD is then fed to a fractionation
tower or “still.”
• The still is operated at a low pressure and the NGLs are
released from the rich oil by the combination of pressure
reduction and heat addition in the still.

204
REFRIGERATED LEAN OIL ABSORPTION

• The operation of the still is critical to the overall plant

operation as this is not only the point where the desired
product is produced, but the lean oil quality from the
bottom of the column is important in the absorption of
NGLs in the absorber.
• The refrigeration required for the oil and gas chilling and
the heat inputs to the ROD and still are the key
parameters which must be controlled to operate a lean
oil plant efficiently.

205
 ETHANE RECOVERY

• Dew Point control and mechanical refrigeration systems

are intended for applications where moderate to high
propane recoveries are desired.
• In order to achieve higher propane recoveries and
ethane recovery, cryogenic temperatures are required.
• Generally, the natural gas processing industry considers
cryogenic processing to be processes which operate
below –50°F.
• In order to achieve these temperatures, a combination of
pressure expansion and chilling is used.

206
207
208
METHODS OF ETHANE RECOVERY

There are three general methods which can be used to

achieve the conditions necessary to attain high ethane
recovery levels.
1. J-T Expansion
2. Turboexpander
3. Mechanical refrigeration
Each of these processes has been used successfully,
with the turboexpander being the predominant process
of choice for ethane recovery facilities.

209
J-T EXPANSION PROCESS

• The use of the Joule-Thomson (J-T) effect to recover

liquids is an attractive alternative in many applications.
• The general concept is to chill the gas by expanding the
gas across a J-T valve. With appropriate heat exchange
and large pressure differential across the J-T valve,
cryogenic temperatures can be achieved resulting in
high extraction efficiencies.
• The main difference between the J-T design and turbo
expanders is that the gas expansion is adiabatic across
the valve and is nearly isentropic path. Thus the J-T
design tends to be less efficient per unit of energy
expended than the turbo expander.
210
J-T EXPANSION PROCESS

The J-T process does offer some advantages over the

turboexpander and refrigeration processes in the
following situations:
1. Low gas rates and modest ethane recovery.
2. The process can be designed with no
rotating equipment.
3. Broad range of flows.
4. Simplicity of design and operation.

211
J-T EXPANSION PROCESS

212
J-T EXPANSION PROCESS
• In order to effectively use the J-T process, the gas
must be at a high inlet pressure (over 7000 kPa ).
• If the gas pressure is too low, inlet compression is
necessary or insufficient expansion chilling will be
attained.
• The gas must first be dried to ensure that no water
enters the cold portion of the process.
• Molecular sieves or Alumina are used for the drying.
• Methanol injection has been used in a few plants
successfully but can be an operating problem.
213
J-T EXPANSION PROCESS

• In some cases the feed gas is not at high enough

pressure or the gas is rich in liquefiable hydrocarbons.
Then mechanical refrigeration can be added to the J-
T process to enhance recovery efficiencies.
• The J-T process with refrigeration added to aid in
chilling the feed gas.
• The gas in this design is expanded downstream of the
cold separator.

214
REFRIGERATED J-T PROCESS

215
 REFRIGERATED J-T PROCESS
• The location of the J-T valve is dependent on the gas
pressure and composition involved.
• The advantage of refrigeration is that lower feed
pressure can be used or alternatively, the demethanizer
can be operated at a higher pressure thus reducing
residue compression.
• The J-T process, whether refrigerated or non-
refrigerated, offers a simple, flexible process for
moderate ethane recovery.
• It is usually applied to smaller gas flows where some
inefficiency can be tolerated for reduction in capital and
operating costs. 216
 TURBOEXPANDER PROCESS

• The turboexpander process dominates ethane

recovery facility design.
• This process uses the feed gas pressure to produce
needed refrigeration by expansion across a turbine
(turboexpander). The turboexpander recovers useful
work from this gas expansion.
• The expander is linked to a centrifugal compressor to
recompress the residue gas from the process.
Because the expansion is near isentropic, the
turboexpander lowers the gas temperature
significantly more than expansion across a J-T valve.
217
TURBOEXPANDER PROCESS

218
 TURBOEXPANDER PROCESS
• Dry feed gas is first cooled against the residue gas and
used for side heating of the demethanizer.
• Additionally, with richer gas feeds, mechanical
refrigeration is often needed to supplement the gas
chilling.
• The chilled gas is sent to the cold separator where the
condensed liquid is separated, flashed and fed to the
middle part of the demethanizer.
• The vapor flows through the turboexpander and feeds
the top of the column.

219
 TURBOEXPANDER PROCESS

• A J-T valve is installed in parallel with the expander.

This valve can be used to handle excess gas flow
beyond the design of the expander or can be used for
the full flow if the expander is out of service.
• In this configuration the ethane recovery is limited to
about 80% or less.
• Also, the cold separator is operated at a low
temperature to maximize recovery. Often the high
pressure and low temperature conditions are near the
critical point of the gas making the operation unstable.
• Another problem with this design is the presence of
CO2, which can solidify at operating temperatures. 220
 TURBOEXPANDER PROCESS

To increase the ethane recovery beyond the 80%

achievable with the conventional design, following
methods were developed:
• Residue Recycle (RR)
• Gas Subcooled Process (GSP)
• Cold Residue Recycle (CRR)
• Side Draw Reflux (SDR) Process

221
 RESIDUE RECYCLE
• To increase the ethane recovery beyond the 80%
achievable with the conventional design, a source of
reflux must be developed for the demethanizer.

• One of the methods is to recycle a portion of the residue

gas, after recompression, back to the top of the column.

222
RESIDUE RECYCLE

223
RESIDUE RECYCLE

• The process flow is similar to the conventional

design except that a portion of the residue is
brought back through the inlet heat exchange.
• At this point the stream is totally condensed and is
at the residue gas pipeline pressure.
• The stream is then flashed to the top of the
demethanizer to provide reflux. The expander outlet
stream is sent a few trays down in the tower rather
than to the top of the column.
• The reflux provides more refrigeration to the system
and allows very high ethane recovery to be realized.
224
RESIDUE RECYCLE
• The residue recycle (RR) system has been used
successfully in numerous facilities.
• It is CO2 tolerant and the recovery can be adjusted
by the quantity of recycle used.
• The recovery level is a function of the quantity of
recycle in the design.
• The RR process can be used for very high ethane
recoveries limited only by the quantity of horsepower
provided.

225
GAS SUBCOOLED PROCESS

226
GAS SUBCOOLED PROCESS

• The Gas Subcooled Process (GSP) was developed

to overcome the problems encountered with the
conventional expander process.
• A portion of the gas from the cold separator is sent
to a heat exchanger where it is totally condensed
with the overhead stream.
• This stream is then flashed to top of the
demethanizer providing reflux to the demethanizer.

227
GAS SUBCOOLED PROCESS
• As with the RR process, the expander feed is sent to
the tower several stages below the top of the column.
• Because of this modification, the cold separator
operates at much warmer conditions well away from
the system critical.
• Additionally, the residue recompression is less than
with the conventional expander process.
• The horsepower is typically lower than the RR
process at recovery levels below 92%.

228
GAS SUBCOOLED PROCESS

• The GSP design has several modifications.

• One is to take a portion of the liquid from the cold
separator along with the gas to the overhead
exchanger. Generally, this can help to further reduce
the horsepower required for recompression.
• Also, the process can be designed to just use a portion
of the cold separator liquid for reflux. This modification
is typically used for gases richer than 3 GPM.

229
GAS SUBCOOLED PROCESS

• The GSP design is very CO2 tolerant; many designs

require no up front CO2 removal to achieve high
recovery.
• CO2 levels are very composition and operating
pressure dependent, but levels up to 2% can usually
be tolerated with the GSP design.

230
COLD RESIDUE RECYCLE (CRR) PROCESS

• A process scheme has been developed to combine the

GSP and RR processes into an integrated process
scheme.
• This concept is based on applying the best features of
each process to the integrated design.
• This combination can result in higher ethane recovery
efficiency than can be achieved with GSP.

231
CRR PROCESS

232
CRR PROCESS
• The Cold Residue Recycle (CRR) process is a modification
of the GSP process to achieve higher ethane recovery
levels.
• The process is similar to the GSP except that a compressor
and condenser have been added to the overhead system to
take a portion of the residue gas and provide additional
reflux for the demethanizer.
• This process is attractive for extremely high ethane
recovery. Recovery levels above 98% are achievable with
this process.
• This process is also excellent for extremely high propane
recovery while rejecting essentially all the ethane.
233
SIDE DRAW REFLUX (SDR) PROCESS
• The Side Draw Reflux (SDR) process is another
modification of the GSP.
• In this design, a stream is taken off the demethanizer,
boosted in pressure and condensed to provide reflux.
• This design is interesting in cases where the residue
gas stream will contain inerts such as N2 which make
the subcooling of the cold separator overhead
infeasible.
• The stream taken from the side of the demethanizer is
free of the inert components and condenses easily.
234
SIDE DRAW REFLUX (SDR) PROCESS

235
SIDE DRAW REFLUX (SDR) PROCESS

• As with the CRR process, the extra equipment

associated with SDR system must be justified on
additional liquid recovery.

236
 MIXED REFRIGERANT PROCESS

• The use of a mixed refrigerant process is an interesting

alternative to the turboexpander process. Such processes
have been used widely in LNG processing and to a lesser
extent in NGL recovery.
• One of the characteristics of the process is that low
temperatures can be achieved with significantly reduced
inlet gas pressure.
• The chilling can be achieved totally with mechanical
refrigeration or with a mixture of refrigeration and
expansion.
• If inlet compression is contemplated for a turboexpander
plant, then mixed refrigerant processing can be an
economic alternative. 237
MIXED REFRIGERANT PROCESS

238
 MIXED REFRIGERANT PROCESS

• In this process, the feed gas is chilled to cold separator

temperature where the liquid is sent to the demethanizer as
in an expander process.
• The overhead vapor is split and the majority sent
through an expander to the upper part of the demethanizer.
• A portion of the gas is cooled further in the main heat
exchanger and sent to the top of the demethanizer as reflux.
• Alternatively, the turboexpander can be eliminated and the
total stream cooled in the main exchanger and fed to the
demethanizer.

239
 MIXED REFRIGERANT PROCESS

• The residue gas would be exchanged with the feed in

the main heat exchanger. The refrigeration is provided
by a single mixed refrigerant system designed to
provide the necessary low temperature conditions.
• The refrigerant would typically be a methane, ethane,
propane mixture with some heavier components as
dictated by the design conditions.
• A critical aspect of the design is to maintain the desired
refrigerant composition during plant operation.

240
 FRACTIONATION CONSIDERATIONS
• In all NGL recovery processes, one of the final steps in
the plant is the production of the desired liquid product
by use of a fractionation column.
• This column produces the specification product as a
bottom product with the overhead stream being recycled
to the process or sent out of the plant as residue gas
product.
• This mixed product then needs to be separated into
usable products in a series of one or more fractionation
columns.
• The number and arrangement of these columns is
dependent on the desired product.
241
 FRACTIONATION CONSIDERATIONS
• If the NGL stream is an ethane plus stream the first
step is to separate the ethane from the propane and
heavier components in a deethanizer.
• The propane is then separated from the butane and
heavier components in a depropanizer.
• If further processing is desired the butane may be
separated in a debutanizer and the butanes further
separated in a butane splitter column.
• The butane splitter is only used when a differential
value can be realized for the isobutane versus the
mixed butane stream.
242
FRACTIONATION CONSIDERATIONS

243