PETE 4107: NATURAL GAS PROCESSING AND UTILIZATION

LECTURE NOTES PREPARED BY MR KIVEN PAUL

CONTENT:
1. NATURAL GAS FUNDAMENTALS

2. PHASE BEHAVIOR OF NATURAL GAS SYSTEMS

3. CONDENSATE PRODUCTION

4. NATURAL GAS AND LIQUID SEPARATION

5. NATURAL GAS DEHYDRATION—WATER REMOVAL

6. NATURAL GAS SWEETENING—ACID GASES REMOVAL

7. GAS COMPRESSION

8. GAS LIQUEFACTION.

9. UNDERGROUND STORAGE OF NATURAL GAS

10. DIFFERENT UTILIZATIONS OF NATURAL GAS

11. FUTURE OF NATURAL GAS IN THE WORLD ENERGY.

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 CHAPTER ONE: FUNDAMENTAL KNOWLEDGE ON NATURAL GAS PROCESSING, TRANSPORT
AND STORAGE.

1.1: INTRODUCTION
Natural gas is the most energy efficient fossil fuel d it offers important energy saving benefits when it
is used instead of oil or coal. Natural gas is a vital component of the world’s supply of energy. It is one of
the cleanest, safest, and most useful of all energy sources. Although the primary use of natural gas is as a
fuel, it is also a source of hydrocarbons for petrochemical feedstocks and a major source of elemental sulfur,
an important industrial chemical. Its popularity as an energy source is expected to grow substantially in
the future because natural gas can help achieve two important energy goals for the 21st centurydproviding
the sustainable energy supplies and services needed for social and economic development and reducing
adverse impacts on global climate and the environment in general.

1.2: NATURAL GAS ORIGIN AND SOURCES

There are different theories as to the origins of fossil fuels. The most widely accepted theory of the
origin of natural gas asserts that it came from organic matter (the remains of land and aquatic plants,
animals, and microorganisms) that was trapped within sediments as they were deposited and
transformed over long periods of time into their present form. Two main mechanisms, namely
biogenic and thermogenic, are responsible for the degradation of the original fossil organic material
in sediments.

Because natural gas and oil are found with water, and because they are less dense, they would rise
vertically, including all the way to the atmosphere. Much has escaped over time and continues to this day.
However, if a vertical barrier is encountered (cap rock), it stops the migration and confines gas-in-place.
Therefore, for natural gas to accumulate, three things have to be present: the source rock (compacted
organic materials) for the creation of natural gas; the porous media (reservoir) to accommodate the created
gas; and the impermeable rock on top to trap the gas inside the porous rock-reservoir.

Natural gas resources differ by the geological characteristics of their reservoir rock. In fact, natural
gas comes from both “conventional” and “unconventional” geological formations.

1.2.1: CONVENTIONAL GAS

Conventional gas is typically “free gas” trapped in multiple porous zones in naturally occurring rock
formations such as carbonates, sandstones, and siltstones. Conventional natural gas generally occurs in
deep reservoirs, either associated with crude oil (associated gas) or in reservoirs that contain little or
no crude oil (nonassociated gas)

Conventional gas is typically found in medium to highly porous reservoirs with a permeability
greater than 1 millidarcy (mD). Pressure moves the gas towards the production wells (i.e., natural
flow). As such, it can be extracted via traditional techniques that are relatively easy and inexpensive.

1.2.2: UNCONVENTIONAL GAS.

Unconventional gas is the collective term for natural gas held in formations that are different from
conventional reservoirs. Natural gas resources such as shales, tight gas sands, coal (also known as
coalbed methane), geopressurized aquifers, and gas hydrates are often referred to as unconventional
gas resources. However, the three main types of unconventional natural gas resources are: shale gas,
tight gas, and coalbed methane.

Shale gas is extracted from shales (source rock, usually at depths greater than about 1500 m),
which have naturally low permeability. The gas that shale contains (mainly methane) is either adsorbed
onto the organic matter or left in a free state in the tiny void spaces (pores) of the rock.

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Tight gas is trapped in ultra-compacted reservoirs characterized by relatively high porosity but with
very low permeability (due to their laminated structures). Interconnections between the rock pores in
the sandstone that contains the gas are very small, so the gas migrates through them with great
difficulty.

Coalbed methane (also known as coal seam gas) is trapped in coal deposits, often near the surface.
Most of the gas (primarily methane) is adsorbed on the lamellar surfaces of the coal, which is an
excellent “storage medium.” The permeability of the coal decreases with increasing depth, meaning
that deeper wells have a lower production rate.

A common characteristic of the different types of unconventional gas resources is that they contain
large quantities of natural gas, but it is usually more difficult to produce this gas as compared to
conventional reservoir rocks. In fact, unconventional gas is found in reservoirs with a relatively low
permeability (<1 mD) and therefore, cannot be extracted by conventional methods.

Figure 1:Schematic geology of natural gas resources.

1.3: NATURAL GAS COMPOSITION, CLASSIFICATION AND PHASE BEHAVIOR.

Natural gas is a complex mixture of hydrocarbon and nonhydrocarbon 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.

While natural gas is formed primarily of methane (CH4), it can also include significant quantities of
ethane (C2H6), propane (C3H8), butane (C4H10), and pentane (C5H12) as well as traces of hexane
(C6H14) and heavier hydrocarbons. Many natural gases often contain nitrogen (N2), carbon dioxide (CO2),
hydrogen sulfide (H2S), and other sulfur components such as mercaptans (ReSH), carbonyl
sulfide (COS), and carbon disulfide (CS2). Trace quantities of argon, hydrogen, and helium may also
be present. Trace quantities of metallic substances are known to exist in natural gases including
arsenic, selenium, mercury, and uranium.

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According to the proportion of hydrocarbons heavier than methane, different types of natural gas
(dry, wet, and condensate) can be considered.

Natural gases are commonly classified according to their liquid contents as either lean or rich and
according to the sulfur content as either sweet or sour.

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. Therefore, there is an essential
need to know a priori how the gas fluid will behave under a wide range of pressure and temperature
conditions, particularly in terms of its volumetric and thermophysical properties that are required in
simulating reservoirs, evaluating reserves, forecasting production, designing production facilities, and
designing gathering and transportation systems. In fact, an accurate knowledge of hydrocarbon fluid phase
behavior is crucial in designing and operating the gas-engineering processes efficiently and optimally. This
means, having advanced predictive tools for the characterization of hydrocarbon phase behavior with the
highest accuracy possible is the key to mastering the economics of natural gas systems. Certain concepts
associated with phase envelopes are demonstrated in Figure 1.

Figure 2: Pressure-temperature/phase diagram for a typical natural gas

mixture.
The left-hand side of the curve is the bubble point line and divides the single-phase liquid region from the
two-phase gaseliquid region. The right-hand side of the curve is the dew point line and divides the two-
phase gaseliquid region and the single-phase gas region. The bubble point and dew point lines intersect at
the critical point, where the distinction between gas and liquid properties disappears. The maximum
pressure at which liquids can form is called the cricondenbar (PCC), and the maximum temperature at
which liquids can form is called the cricondentherm (TCC).

1.4: NATURAL GAS PROPERTIES

1.4.1: CHEMICAL AND PHYSICAL PROPERTIES
Natural gas is colorless, odorless, tasteless, shapeless, and lighter than air. The natural
gas after appropriate treatment for acid gas reduction, and moisture and hydrocarbon dew point
adjustment, would then be sold within prescribed limits of pressure, heating value, and possibly Wobbe
Index (often referred to as the Wobbe Number).

1.4.1.1: Gas Specific Gravity

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Specific gravity of a natural gas is defined as the ratio of gas density to the density of air, both defined
at the same pressure and temperature. These densities are usually defined at standard conditions (14.7
psia and 60F). Therefore, specific gravity of gas is defined as:

𝑀
𝛾𝑔 =
𝑀𝑎𝑖𝑟
1.4.1.2: Gas Compressibility Factor
The volume of a real gas is usually less than what the volume of an ideal gas would be, and hence a real
gas is said to be super-compressible. The ratio of the real volume to the ideal volume, which is a
measure of the amount the gas deviates from perfect behavior, is called the super compressibility
factor, sometimes shortened to the compressibility factor. It is also called the gas deviation factor, and
given the symbol “Z”. The gas deviation factor is by definition the ratio of the volume actually
occupied by a gas at a given pressure and temperature to the volume it would occupy if it behaved
ideally.

The real gas equation of state is then written as:

𝑃𝑉 = 𝑍𝑛𝑅𝑇
where P is the pressure, V is the volume, T is the absolute temperature, Z is the compressibility factor, n
is the number of kilomoles of the gas, and R is the gas constant.

1.4.1.3: Gas Formation Volume Factor

The formation volume factor for gas is defined as the ratio of volume of 1 mol of gas at reservoir
conditions to the volume of 1 mol of gas at standard conditions (P s and Ts). Using the real gas law and
assuming that the Z factor at standard conditions is one, the equation for formation volume factor (B g)
can be written as:

𝑉𝑅 𝑛𝑍𝑇𝑅 𝑃𝑠 𝑃𝑠 𝑍𝑇
𝐵𝑔 = = =
𝑉𝑠 𝑃 𝑛𝑍𝑠 𝑅𝑇𝑠 𝑇𝑠 𝑃
when Ps is 1 atm (14.6959 psia or 101.325 kPa) and Ts is 60F (519.67oR or 288.71oK)

1.4.1.4: Gas Density

The gas density is defined as mass per unit volume and so can also be derived and calculated from the
real gas law:

𝑚 𝑃𝑀
𝜌𝑔 = =
𝑉 𝑍𝑅𝑇
1.4.1.5: Isothermal Compressibility of Gases
The isothermal gas compressibility, which is given by the symbol c g, is a useful concept that will be
used extensively in determining the compressible properties of the reservoir. The isothermal
compressibility is also called the bulk modulus of elasticity. Gas usually is the most compressible
medium in the reservoir. However, care should be taken so that it is not confused with the gas deviation
factor, Z, which is sometimes called the super-compressibility factor:

1 𝜕𝑉𝑔
𝑐𝑔 = − ( )
𝑉𝑔 𝜕𝑃 𝑇

where V and P are volume and pressure, respectively, and T is the absolute temperature. For ideal gas,
we can define the compressibility as:

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 1
𝑐𝑔 =
𝑃
Whereas, for nonideal gas, compressibility is defined as:

1 1 𝜕𝑍
𝑐𝑔 = − ( )
𝑃 𝑍 𝜕𝑃 𝑇
1.5: NATURAL GAS GATHERING
The gathering of natural gas consists of aggregating raw natural gas produced from various wellheads.
Lines from wellheads tend to be small diameter piping that run over relatively short distances
compared to transportation pipelines. The gathering piping tends to be larger after field separation
facilities that remove associated oil and water prior to sending natural gas to the processing facility
through “trunk lines.”

1.6: NATURAL GAS TRANSPORTATION

Transportation is an essential aspect of the gas business, since gas reserves are often quite distant from
their main markets. For almost a century, natural gas has been transported safely, reliably, and
economically via pipelines that are used to bring the gas supply from various production wells to the
metropolis.

Now, in the 21st century, the vast majority of the large, conventional natural gas reserves have been already
tapped, and attention is shifting to stranded reservoirs that were previously thought too small, too remote,
or technically too difficult to develop. The liquefied natural gas (LNG) industry has commercialized many
large remote gas fields over the past three decades and developed gas markets commercially unreachable
by pipeline.

Over the last two decades, several technologies have been also evaluated and proposed for
monetizing hitherto remote gas reserves. These include: a number of technologies converting natural gas
into a range of easily transported and marketed hydrocarbons (grouped under the generic term “gas-to-
liquids” or GTL technologies); using gas to produce electricity at the production field and then transporting
it by high voltage direct current (HVDC) transmission lines to long distances (generically referred to as
“gas-to-wire” technologies); compressed natural gas (CNG) that avoids the cost of gas liquefaction;
converting gas, particularly associated gas, into solids or slurries formed of gas hydrates for storage and
transportation (generically referred to as “gas-to-solids” technologies).

1.6.1: PIPELINES
Pipeline transportation has been employed to deliver gas to markets for a long time. However, supply
of natural gas to markets via gas pipelines is often faced with technical, economic, and political
uncertainties.

Pipelines are a very convenient method of transport but often have limited flexibility. If a pipeline
must be shut down, downstream facilities will be shut down. The downstream facilities can continue to
operate until the inventory in the gas lines is depleted.

For onshore and near-shore gas, pipeline is an economical option for transporting natural gas to the
consumers. However, as transportation distance increases, particularly in offshore and deepwater
exploration, development of these projects is challenging and expensive, and requires a large diameter
long distant pipe network.

Intercontinental pipelines usually entail the crossing of several countries and borders, which means
that several governments may have jurisdiction over the pipelines, increasing the complexity of the
projects. There are many challenges such as unexpected gas supply interruptions, terrorist attack on
infrastructure, or pipeline shutdown during political turmoil.

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1.6.2: LIQUEFIED NATURAL GAS
Liquefied natural gas (LNG) technology has been proven to be effective over the last 50 years. When
natural gas is cooled to approximately 260F (162C) at atmospheric pressure, a condensed liquid
forms which is termed liquefied natural gas (LNG). The volume reduction is about 1/600th the volume
of natural gas at the burner tip. The physical properties of LNG allow for its long-distance transport by
ship across oceans to markets and for its local distribution via regasification or by truck transport.
Occasionally, liquefaction of natural gas provides the opportunity to store the fuel for use during high
consumption periods, as well as in areas where geologic conditions are not suitable for underground
gas storage facilities.

The much lower volume of liquefied natural gas (LNG) relative to gaseous natural gas can reduce
transportation costs by allowing delivery using cargo ships or transport trucks instead of pipelines.
However, the costs of building a liquefied natural gas plant are higher than other project options.

1.6.3: COMPRESSED NATURAL GAS

Gas can be transported in containers at high pressures, typically 1800 psig for a rich gas (significant
amounts of ethane, propane, etc.) to roughly 3600 psig for a lean gas (mainly methane). Gas at these
pressures is termed compressed natural gas (CNG). CNG offers proven technology that has the potential to
provide an early to market, economic solution for remote offshore gas developments with
small to medium reserves or for associated gas reserves in large oil field developments.

1.6.4: GAS-TO-LIQUIDS
In gas-to-liquids (GTL) transport processes, natural gas is converted to a heavier hydrocarbon liquid
and transported to the consumers. The technology of converting natural gas to liquids is not new. In the
first step, methane is mixed with steam and converted to syngas or synthetic gas (mixtures of carbon
monoxide and hydrogen) by one of a number of routes using a suitable catalyst technology. The syngas is
then converted into a liquid using a Fischer-Tropsch (FT) process (in the presence of a catalyst) or an
oxygenation method (mixing syngas with oxygen in the presence of a suitable catalyst). The produced liquid
can be a liquid fuel, usually a clean burning motor fuel (syncrude), or lubricant, ammonia, methanol, LPG
substitute, or some precursors for plastics manufacture, e.g., urea, dimethyl ether (DME), or chemical
feedstocks.

1.6.5: GAS-TO-SOLID
Gas can be transported as a solid, with the solid being gas hydrate. Natural gas hydrates (NGHs), which are
essentially natural gas in a “frozen” state, form when water and natural gas combine at low temperatures
and high pressures. Gas hydrates are clathrates where the guest gas molecules are occluded in a lattice of
host water molecules. They are most commonly encountered in the industry as a production problem in
pipelines to be avoided as part of flow assurance.

Gas-to-solids (GTS) involve three stages: production, transportation, and regasification. Conceptually,
hydrate slurry production is simply mixing chilled water and gas. In practice, processed gas is
fed to a hydrate production plant, where a series of reactors convert it into a hydrate slurry. Each
reactor further concentrates the hydrate slurry. It is then stored and eventually offloaded onto a
transport vessel (insulated to near adiabatic conditions). At the receiving terminal, the hydrate is
dissociated and the gas can be used as desired. The water can be used at the destination if there is water
shortage, or returned as ballast to the hydrate generator and, since it is saturated with gas, will not take
more gas into solution.

1.6.6: GAS-TO-WIRE
Currently, much of the transported gas destination is fuel for electricity generation. Electricity generation
at or near the reservoir source and transportation by cable to the destination(s) (gas-to-wire) are
possible. Thus, for instance, offshore or isolated gas could be used to fuel an offshore power plant (may

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be sited in less hostile waters), which would generate electricity for sale onshore or to other offshore
customers.

High voltage direct current (HVDC) transmission lines offer the most technically viable solution to
moving large quantities of electric power over large distances (up to about 1500 km) keeping line
losses less than 10%. However, HVDC is capital intensive and requires costly converter stations at
either end of the transmission line. Additional costs for installing and then operating and maintaining
gas turbines at the remote site would be incurred.

1.7: NATURAL GAS PROCESSING

Natural gas as it leaves the reservoir contains water vapor and all the impurities. Therefore, raw natural
gas produced from wells must be processed to meet the quality standards specified by pipeline companies,
which must be compatible with the pipeline design and the customer’s requirements. Off specification
natural gas will cause operational problems associated with corrosion and plugging, which may result in
unsafe operation.

If the raw gas contamination levels and acid gas content are low, the gas can be treated and dried at the
field processing facility near the wellhead and sent directly to the sales gas pipeline. However, if
the contaminant levels are high and the gas is sour then it is typically collected and piped to a gas processing
complex where the gas is treated, conditioned, and dried to meet pipeline gas specifications. The design
and operation of the different processing units shall be discussed in the subsequent chapters.

1.8: SALES GAS TRANSMISSION

After the raw gas has been processed to meet pipeline gas specifications, the marketable (sales) gas is
transported through pipelines to industrial and residential consumers or to underground storage facilities
for later delivery to these consumers as demand dictates. A number of compressor stations
(containing one or more compressor units) are located along the pipeline system to maintain the
pipeline pressure and overcome the pressure drop in the pipeline.

When the sales gas reaches a local gas utility, it normally passes through a gate station to serve
three purposes: (1) reducing the pressure in the line from transmission levels to distribution levels, (2)
adding an odorant so that consumers can smell even small quantities of gas, and (3) measuring the flow
rate of the gas to determine the amount delivered to the utility. From the gate station, sales gas then
moves into distribution lines to supply gas to the end users/customers.

1.9: UNDERGROUND GAS STORAGE

Strategically, underground gas storage provides security of supply in case there are disruptions to
production and transmission. This could be due to commercial reasons, such as sales gas price
negotiation, political reasons, or an outage. It is a means to balance seasonal variations in consumption; the
winter demand is typically greater than the summer usage. It can also enhance the effectiveness of gas
transport and production, where it can be stored locally to where it is being used.

There are three principal types of underground storage methods: depleted oil or gas reservoirs,
aquifers, and salt cavern formations.

1.9.1: DEPLETED RESERVOIRS

The most common form of underground storage is depleted gas reservoirs. They are formations that
have already been exhausted of most of their recoverable oil and natural gas. The empty reservoirs can
be used to hold natural gas. The advantage of converting a field from production to storage duty is that one
can use the existing wells, gathering systems, and pipeline connections. It is usually close to consumption
centers. Of the three types of underground storage, depleted reservoirs are the cheapest and the quickest
to develop, operate, and maintain.

1.9.2: AQUIFERS

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Aquifers are underground porous, permeable rock formations that act as natural water reservoirs. An
aquifer is suitable for natural gas storage if the water-bearing sedimentary rock formation is overlaid with
an impermeable cap rock. Storage is created by injecting gas and displacing the water. Therefore, the water
movement and cap rock quality should be taken into account when selecting and designing the storage.
While the geology of aquifers is similar to the depleted production fields, they are more expensive to
develop for natural gas storage, and consequently, there are limited numbers of aquifer natural gas storage,
found only in areas where there are no other alternatives.

1.9.3: SALT CAVERNS

Salt caverns are formed out of existing salt bed deposits. The cavern is man-made by drilling a well down
into the formation, and pumping water through the completed well to dissolve the salt which returns to the
surface as brine. The walls of the cavern are very resilient against reservoir degradation.

As the salt cavern is an open vessel, it offers very high deliverability. Flow rates can be high and
they can be brought on stream and ramped to full flow quickly. They are best for peak loads and short
term trading rather than long term seasonal storage. Peak load can be provided by salt caverns, where
the deliverability is higher, turnovers will be higher and facilities are smaller. Salt caverns turnover can
be daily or weekly, entirely dictated by commercial trading.

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 CHAPTER TWO: PHASE BEHAVIOR OF NATURAL GAS SYSTEMS

Natural gases have so many industrial applications that a major challenge is to develop a
thermodynamic model able to predict the phase equilibrium of these mixtures. Such predictions
are indeed essential for the processing of natural gases and the design of transportation
facilities. Quantitative phase behavior data are also essential for the prediction of the performance
of gas-condensate reservoirs. Significant amounts of condensate may be deposited in the reservoir
while the reservoir is being depleted and this will have a direct bearing on the recovery efficiency of
the condensate. Phase behavior plays a significant role at the surface where the well stream is
separated into a gas and a liquid stream. The conditions under which this separation takes place
determine largely the condensate yield. Certain concepts, demonstrated in Figure 3, associated with
phase envelopes are worth introducing before we discuss different types of natural gas behaviors.

Figure 3: Phase diagram

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.
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.
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.

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Clearly, the natural gas phase envelope can be very different depending on its source.

Dry- and Wet-Gas Phase Behaviors

As discussed earlier in chapter one, dry gas is in the gaseous phase under reservoir conditions, as marked
by point A in Figure 3. 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. 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.

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 Figure 3, the amount of liquid in the reservoir increases. As pressure
decreases further, liquid starts to revaporize. Between the dew point and the point where liquid
revaporizes is the region (shaded area in Figure 3) of retrograde condensation (McCain, 1973). 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. Sometimes it could seize production (Wang, 2000).

One way to prevent the formation of condensate is to maintain the flowing well bottomhole pressure above
the dew point pressure. This is often not satisfactory because the drawdown (reservoir pressure
minus flowing bottomhole pressure) may not be sufficient enough for the economic production rate. An
alternative technique is to allow the formation of condensate, but occasionally to inject methane gas into
the production well. The gas dissolves and sweeps the liquid condensate into the reservoir. The well is then
put back in production. This approach is repeated several times in the life of the well. It is known as
gas cycling. Another way is to inject both nitrogen and methane, which develops a miscible displacement
process and results in high condensate recoveries (Sanger and Hagoort, 1998).

Removing the bank of condensate from the near-wellbore region is still a challenge for the oil and gas
industry. Understanding the near-wellbore gas-condensate flow is thus very important to optimize
production of gas-condensate reservoirs.

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 Figure 3) 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.

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 CHAPTER THREE: CONDENSATE PRODUCTION

INTRODUCTION
Production well fluids entering the inlet reception facility is first separated in the slug catcher. The
hydrocarbon liquid stream contains mainly light hydrocarbons (methane and ethane in particular),
water, salts, corrosion and hydrate inhibitors, acid gases, mercaptans, and other sulfur compounds. The
condensate production unit is designed to separate these contaminants to produce a marketable
hydrocarbon liquid (condensate) for export.

Condensate production involves three steps: water washing, condensate stabilization, and
condensate treating. Depending upon the associated water quality, the condensate may require a water
wash to remove salts and additives. After dewatering step, which requires a careful evaluation of the
condensate/water separation technology, the condensate goes to the condensate stabilization unit
where remaining lighter hydrocarbons are stripped and recombined with the gas that leaves the inlet
reception facility. The process of increasing the amount of intermediate (C3 to C5) and heavy (C6þ)
components in the condensate is called condensate stabilization. This process is performed primarily
to reduce the vapor pressure of the condensate so that a vapor phase is not produced upon flashing the
liquid to atmospheric storage tanks. Stabilized condensate generally has a vapor pressure specification,
typically identified by its Reid vapor pressure (RVP1) or true vapor pressure. Typical RVP
specification ranges from 4 to 8 psia.

After the stabilization step, condensate must be treated to remove heavy mercaptans and
other undesirable contaminants to very low levels to produce a liquid product that has specifications to
be sold as “natural gasoline.”

CONDENSATE STABILIZATION
There are two basic stabilization processes: cascade flash separation and distillation separation.
Cascade flash separation consists multiple separators and compressors, is common in offshore gas
processing plants due to its simplicity, but its efficiency and condensate yields are lower. The distillation
separation type is more complex, and more efficient, which is common in onshore gas processing plants.

STABILIZATION BY CASCADE FLASH SEPARATION

The principle of the cascade flash separation is to remove the lighter components by flashing to lower
pressures in several steps. The condensate can also be heated to promote removal of the light components.
The process equipment can be very compact, which is advantageous in offshore gas installation where
equipment weight and plot space must be minimized. However, the condensate yield is
low, particularly when processing a lighter condensate to meet a low RVP requirement. The process is
more suitable for processing crude oil or heavier condensate.

A typical cascade flash separation process is shown in Figure 4. The condensate is flashed and
separated at three successive pressures at 500, 100, and 15 psig. The flashed vapor can be used as a fuel
gas in the facility or sent to the flare (during early production developments). Typically, the vapors are
compressed back to the feed section for recovery. Vapor from compressor discharge is cooled and the
condensed liquid is blended with the condensate product, which helps to reduce the condensate losses.

To achieve a low RVP condensate, the feed must be heated to higher temperatures, typically about
150e250F. In fact, the feed temperature must be sufficiently high to drive off its H 2S content to meet
the H2S specification in the product. Once the H2S specification has been met, heating can be adjusted
as needed to meet the vapor pressure specification.

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Figure 4: Condensate stabilization by cascade flash separation. HP, high pressure; MP, medium pressure; LP, low pressure.

STABILIZATION BY DISTILLATION
Distillation process is an efficient method for separating the C 5þ from the lighter components, instead
of using multiple flash stages. The distillation column can be a refluxed type or a nonrefluxed type
(simple stripper). A nonrefluxed type is lower in capital cost, as the overhead reflux condenser system
is not required. The drawback is the loss of C5þ components in the overhead. The C5þ components can
be partially recovered by recycling the condensate later, which in most cases, can be economically
justified.

With the refluxed column, there are two design options. The first option is to produce a condensate
product, with the butane and lighter components returned to the acid gas removal unit (AGRU). The
second option is to produce a condensate and a liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) fraction.

Condensate Production Only

The process flow schematic of a condensate stabilization unit is shown in Figure 5. The condensate is
flashed and separated in an intermediate separator, with flashed vapors compressed and returned to the
AGRU. The flashed liquid is preheated with the stabilizer bottom and routed to the stabilizer for
separation. The stabilizer typically operates between 150 and 250 psia and contains about 20e25 trays.

The stabilizer column is heated with medium pressure steam to meet the RVP specification. The
overhead vapor is partially condensed, by air or cooling water, producing a reflux to the column and a
butane and lighter vapor that is compressed to the AGRU. No liquid overhead product is produced in
this configuration.

Because the condensate is saturated with water, water will be stripped and condensed in the upper
column. Water is collected in the reflux drum as an aqueous phase and may be trapped in the upper
section of the stabilizer column. Any free water must be removed from the column or it will build up
inside the column, resulting in column flooding. Typically, interface controllers are provided to allow

13
withdraw of water from the reflux drum and the top trays. The draw tray locations can be determined to
detect three phase conditions with simulation software.

The advantage of the condensate only design is that it recycles the LPG portion to the gas
processing plant. This avoids producing LPG that may not meet the color and water specifications
for export. The disadvantage is that the gas plant has to be designed for a higher duty from the
recycled LPG.

Figure 5: Condensate stabilization by distillation.

Condensate and Liquefied Petroleum Gas Production

The condensate stabilization process can be configured to produce LPG from the stabilizer column. To
meet the ethane content in the LPG product, a feed liquid stripper is required upstream of the stabilizer.
This stripper is designed to remove all the acid gases and lighter components such that the LPG
product from the downstream stabilizer would meet the H 2S and vapor pressure specifications. The
process flow schematic for the feed liquid stripper and stabilizer is shown in Figure 6. The feed liquid
stripper pressure is typically set at about 200 psia or at slightly higher pressure than the stabilizer such
that pumping can be avoided. The advantage of this process is that it avoids recycling the LPG portion
and minimizes the size of the gas processing plant. However, the LPG product may contain other
contaminants that may not meet specifications for export.

Figure 6: Condensate and liquefied petroleum gas production.

14
OPERATING PROBLEMS
The common operating problems of the condensate stabilization units are failure to meet product
specifications and unstable column operation. These can be contributed by one of the following
factors:

• Feed flow rate and conditions are significantly different than design

• Carryover of contaminants and injection chemicals from upstream operation

• High corrosion, resulting in failure of piping and heat exchanger equipment

• Column flooding and unstable operation

• Equipment fouling

Many of these problems can be avoided in the feed stage of the project by defining the ranges of
operating conditions.

CONDENSATE HYDROTREATING
While steam stripping in the stabilizer can be used to remove lighter hydrocarbon and acid gas
components, it has minimal effect on the removal of mercaptans. If the condensate contains the
lowermolecular-weight mercaptans (methyl mercaptan), it can be treated by conventional liquid-treating
technologies, such as caustic wash, UOP’s Merox, molecular sieves, and catalyst solid beds.

If the condensate contains the higher-molecular-weight mercaptans, aromatic compounds, and

other undesirable sulfur components, it must be processed with a hydrotreater, which is a common
process in refinery to desulfurize high sulfur feedstock. The primary function is to use a hydrotreater
catalyst to promote the following desulfurization reactions:

𝑅 − 𝑆 − 𝐻 + 𝐻2 = 𝑅 − 𝐻 + 𝐻2 𝑆
𝑅 − 𝑆 − 𝑅′ + 2𝐻2 = 𝑅 − 𝐻 + 𝑅′ − 𝐻 + 𝐻2 𝑆
where, 𝑅 and 𝑅′ are hydrocarbon and alternate hydrocarbon chains, respectively.

A typical process flow scheme of a condensate hydrotreating unit is shown in Figure 7. The process
consists of a high-pressure reactor loop where sulfur compounds are converted to H 2S, and aromatic
hydrocarbons are saturated and converted to paraffinic hydrocarbons. The reactor effluent is cooled;
recycle gas and product liquids are separated. The H2S content in the flashed gas is removed by an
amine-treating unit.
The flashed liquid is letdown in pressure and fractionated in a debutanizer, which strips off the H2S,
butane, and light components from the condensate to produce a sulfur-free hydrocarbon liquid. Hydrogen
compression is necessary to maintain the hydrogen partial pressure in the hydrotreater reaction loop. A
hydrogen generation unit is used to supply high-purity hydrogen to support the hydrotreater reaction.

15
Figure 7: Condensate hydrotreating.

EFFLUENT TREATMENT
MONOETHYLENE GLYCOL REGENERATION AND RECLAIMING
The condensate may contain MEG solution, which is used for hydrate control in subsea pipelines. The
glycol solution is contaminated with salts, corrosion inhibitors, and pipe scales, which must be
removed to avoid fouling in the downstream process equipment.

Separation of condensate from the MEG solution requires special design attention. Phase separation is
affected by operating temperatures. Temperatures lower than 40F will result in poor separation due to
high viscosity of glycol and potential emulsion formation. Separation would be improved
if the temperature were above 60F. For this reason, the condensate temperature is typically preheated
to above 60F prior to the feed separator, which is necessary to avoid contamination of the condensate
by the MEG solution.

Water separated from the MEG regeneration unit contains H2S, CO2, and ammonia, and may
contain other undesirable pollutants such as phenols, cyanide and various salts, organic or inorganic acids.
The type and quantity of these pollutants depends on the well properties and the injection
chemicals. They must be removed to comply with environmental regulations.

A typical MEG regeneration/reclaiming unit is shown in Figure 8. As can be seen, MEG solution is
flashed to a feed drum operating at a lower pressure, which removes the dissolved gas from MEG. The
flashed gas is treated and sent to the fuel gas system. The flashed liquid is pumped and filtered,
removing most of the solids and pipe scales before entering the regenerator.

The MEG regenerator is stripped by medium pressure steam, producing an acid gas and sour water
overhead, and a concentrated MEG solution. The acid gas is sent to the Claus burners in the sulfurrecovery
unit, and the water is routed to a sour water stripper. Any entrained hydrocarbon will be
skimmed off from the reflux drum.

The MEG regenerator bottom is concentrated in salt and other nonvolatile materials, which is
purified before recycling to the upstream facility. MEG can be reclaimed by vacuum stripping to
separate MEG from the salty water. There are commercial designs that can be used to reclaim the
MEG. Licensed units, from Prosernat or Cameron Process System, are skid-mount units that can
remove salts, water, and other solids and produce a high-purity glycol.

16
 Figure 8: Monoethylene glycol (MEG) regeneration and reclaiming.

SOUR WATER STRIPPING

The main function of a sour water stripping unit, as shown in Figure 9, is to remove H2S and ammonia
from sour water before sending it to a wastewater treatment unit or recycling back to the process units.
The overhead gas from the sour water stripper is routed to the acid gas burners in the sulfur recovery unit
for destruction. In some designs, to minimize acid gas corrosion, a pump-around system with
cooler is used in the top section, instead of the conventional overhead condenser.

Sour water stripper typically contains about 30 trays that are required to meet the ammonia
specification of 10 ppmw for emissions compliance. In some installations, there are traces of acidic
compounds in the sour water, which would fix the ammonia in solution. In these cases, addition of
caustic may be necessary to neutralize the acidic compounds.

Low-pressure steam can be used to supply stripping requirement by the reboiler. The stripper
bottom temperature is typically maintained at about 230F or higher temperatures sufficient to meet
the ammonia specification. The overhead temperature is controlled at 180F or higher to avoid formation
of ammonia bisulfide. The formation of the ammonia salt will cause fouling and corrosion in
the overhead system. The overhead piping and equipment are constructed with specialty alloy steel and
must be electric or steam traced to stay above the bisulfide formation temperature.

Figure 9: Sour water stripping process.

17
 CHAPTER FOUR: NATURAL GAS AND LIQUID SEPARATION

Natural gas and liquid separation is usually performed in the field immediately after the gas is

produced. A field separator is intended to remove solids and free liquid from the gas, the entrained

liquid mist from the gas, and the entrained gas from the liquid. In addition, the separated gas and

liquid from the vessel must be discharged without re-entrainment. Several technologies are

available to achieve those goals: gravity separators, centrifugal separators or cyclone separators,

filter vane separators, mist eliminator pads, and liquid/gas coalescers. Table 4–1 summarizes each.

Table 1: Types of Liquid/Gas Separators

Technology Droplet Size Removed

Gravity Separator Down to 300 µm

Centrifugal Separator Down to 8–10 µm

Mist Eliminator Pad Down to 10 µm

Vane Separator Down to 10 µm

High Efficiency L/G Coalescer Down to 0.1 µm

The selection of the separator type and its size is dictated by the gas and liquid flow rates, the type

of natural gas as denoted by its specific gravity, the specifications of the produced oil and water,

the separator operating conditions (pressure and temperature), the presence of solids, the floor

space availability such as on an offshore platform, cost, etc. Since vertical and horizontal gravity

separators are widely used, the following section will go step by step to design these two types of

separators as examples.

Gravity Separation Mechanism

A gravity separator, also called a “knockout drum” or, more formally, gravitational-forces-

controlled separator, is typically used as a firststage scrubber. In such a liquid-vapor separation

vessel, there are typically three stages of separation: The first stage is gas passing through the inlet

diverter. This causes the largest liquid droplets to collide on the diverter and then drop out by

gravity. Now inlet diverters have evolved and new cyclonic and distribution baffle inlet devices are

18
used. The next stage is when the gas flows through the vapor disengagement section of the

separator where smaller droplets are separated from gas by gravity. The third and final stage is

mist elimination where the smallest droplets amalgamate and form larger droplets and separated

by gravity.

Gravity Separation of Two Phases (Gas and Liquid)

In separating two phases (gas and liquid) vertically, gravity and flow direction are expected to play

a significant role. The droplets of any liquid in a gas flow are acted on by three forces (shown in

Figure 4–2): gravity (directed downward), buoyancy (opposite of the gravity force), and drag

(opposite of the direction of droplet velocity). As a result, the liquid droplet will move in the

direction of the net force.

Figure 10: Forces on liquid droplet in gas stream.

19
Therefore, the primary design feature of gravity separation is to size the separator so that the drag and
buoyancy forces become less than the gravity force. This forces the liquid droplets to separate from the
flowing gas.

The net gravity force (gravity minus buoyancy) is

(A)

where FG is the gravity force, MP is droplet mass in lb, 𝜌l is liquid density in lb/ft3
𝜌 is gas density in lb/ft3, 𝛿 is gravity acceleration (32.17 ft/s2), and 𝛿 c is dimension proportionality
, g

constant equal to 32.2 lbf/lbm-ft/s2. The drag force FD is

(B)

where CD is the drag coefficient, dP is droplet diameter in ft, and VV is vertical velocity in ft/s. When FG equals
FD, the liquid droplets will settle at a constant terminal velocity, VT. Substituting the mass of the droplet and
assuming a spherical shape

Eqs. (A) and (B) result in

(C)

Hence, as long as the vapor velocity, VV, is less than VT, the liquid droplets will settle out. Eq. (C) can be
rewritten as Eq. (D), in the form

(D)

where

(E)

Here K is the terminal velocity constant in ft/s for vertical gravity settling. dP is the liquid droplet diameter
in ft (microns  3.2808  10–6). CD is the drag coefficient, dimensionless. For a separator without mist
eliminator and with the droplet diameter known, the drag coefficient can be calculated by using the
following correlation:

(F)
where

(G)

Here densities are in lb/ft3 and viscosity is in cp

20
For very small droplets, it is not practical to separate them from the main flow stream by gravity alone. A
coalescing device such as a mist eliminator is required. The complication is that the droplet diameter
changes as the droplets coalesce, and therefore, the K factor for coalescing devices is usually an empirical
value, determined from experiments, published data, or vendors (for their particular coalescing devices).
A commonly used source of empirical K factors for mist eliminators is the GPSA (Gas Processors Suppliers
Association Engineering Data Book, 1987). Some typical K values are given in Table 4–2

Table 2:Separator K Factors

Horizontal separators have an additional complication because the liquid droplets to be separated are
subjected to a horizontal drag force, which is perpendicular to gravity, and therefore, different from the
case of vertical separators.

As shown in Figure 11, the inlet device (A) is used to reduce the momentum of the inlet flow
stream, perform an initial bulk separation of the gas and liquid phases, and enhance gas flow distribution.
There are a variety of inlet devices available.

21
 Figure 11: Gaseliquid separators (GPSA 2004)

Gravity Separation of Three Phases (Gas, Light and Heavy Liquids)

For three-phase separation, while the gas and liquid separation is the same as the one described above, the
settling of the heavy liquid droplet in the light liquid is assumed to obey Stoke’s law of buoyancy:

(H)

where 1,488 converts viscosity of the continuous phase from lb/ft-s to cp. 𝜌Hl and 𝜌Ll are heavy and light
liquid densities in lb/ft3, respectively. A simplified version of Eq. (H) (and also converting the terminal
settling velocity units from ft/s to in./min) is

(I)

where

(J)

and Ks can be obtained from Table 4–3.

22
As should be expected, Eq. (J) suggests that the terminal settling velocity is inversely proportional to the
viscosity of the continuous phase. Therefore, the bigger the viscosity of the continuous phase is, as would
be the case in heavy crude, the more difficult would be to settle droplets out of the continuous phase. In
separator design, VT is usually limited to 10 in./min.

Table 3: Ks Values for Some Systems

Figure 12 show an example of a horizobtal three phase separator.

Figure 12: Horizontal Three-phase separator with wire mesh mist extractor

23
 CHAPTER FIVE: NATURAL GAS DEHYDRATION—WATER REMOVAL

Water with natural gas can generate a great number of problems. One serious problem is that

it could form solid hydrates at certain pressures and temperatures, which can plug facilities and pipelines.

Also, when pressure and temperature drop, water vapor condenses and can cause slug flow and possible

erosion and corrosion in the system, especially when acid gases are present. Finally, water vapor increases

the total volume and decreases the heating value of gas, which subsequently, cannot meet gas stream

specifications. Therefore, water has to be removed from natural gas before it is transported.

Most free water is removed after the gas-liquid separation is at or near the wellhead. However, there are

still small amounts of water vapor associated with the main stream of natural gas that requires further

treatment to remove (dehydration).

Water Content Determination

There are quite a few publications for determining water content (measured in lb/MMcf) in pure

components such as hydrogen sulfide-water system, carbon dioxide-water system, and hydrocarbon

(methane or propane)-water system.

Natural gas, however, is usually a complex mixture and sometimes contains acid/sour gas that changes the

behavior of the natural gas, and causes the deviation of water content calculation.

Several methods are available to estimate the water content of sweet (McKetta and Wehe, 1958; Katz et al.,

1959; Ning et al., 2000) and sour (Maddox, 1988; Robinson et al., 1980; Carroll, 2002; Wichert and Wichert,

2003) natural gases. One of the most commonly used is the Mcketta and Wehe (1958) approach. It is

clear (from the general chart of Figure 13) that water content or solubility increases, as temperature

increases and pressure decreases. Since salts dissolved in the liquid water in equilibrium with natural gas

have a tendency to reduce the water content of the gas, an inset chart is provided in Figure 13 to correct

for the effects of salinity (see tutorial questions for detailed calculation). This approach is applicable for

pressure up to 10,000 psi, temperatures from 50 to 300F, gas gravity in the range of 0.6 to 1.8, and a brine

salinity up to 3%.

24
Figure 13: Water content of sweet natural gas (Mcketta and Wehe,

25
However, Figure 13 is not applicable to sour natural gas, but based on the Mcketta and Wehe (1958) work

and published experimental data on water content of sour gases, Wichert and Wichert (2003) developed

an updated chart based (using Figure 13 and augmented by Figure 14) correlation to calculate the

equilibrium water content of a sour gas. This approach is applicable for pressure up to 10,000 psi,

temperature from 50 to 350F, and H2S content up to 55%.

Figure 14: Water content correction for sour natural gas (Wichert and

The calculation procedure using the Wichert and Wichert (2003) approach is outlined below.
1. At given pressure and temperature, determine the water vapor content of sweet gas from Figure 13:

1.1 Get the water content at 14.7 psi and 60F from the general chart of Figure 13, assuming 0.6 gravity gas
contacting with pure water, W in lb/MMcf.

1.2 Get the gravity correction factor, CG, from the inset chart, “Correction for Gravity”, where

(5a)

26
1.3 Get the salinity correction factor, CS , from the inset chart, “Correction for Salinity,” where

(5b)

1.4 The water content for the sweet natural gas is

(5c)

2. Determine the mole% of H2S equivalent concentration of the sour gas by

(5d)

3. Determine the ratio of water in sour gas to water in sweet gas by using Figure 14:

3.1 Locate the point that represents the “mole% of H2S equivalent” calculated from Eq. (5d) and the given
temperature in the lower part of Figure 14.

3.2 From this point, move to the upper chart to the given pressure, and move to the left to get the ratio.

4. Determine the saturated water content of the sour gas (Wsour) at the given pressure and temperature by
multiplying the value from Step 1 (water vapor content of sweet gas) and the ratio from Step 3 (correction).

Natural Gas Hydrates

Natural gas hydrates are solid crystalline compounds formed by the chemical combination of natural gas
and water under pressure at temperature considerably above the freezing point of water. The chemical
formulae for natural gas hydrates are:

Hydrates tend to form when there is:

• Free water present and temperature decreases below that of hydrate-formation. This usually happens
in the flow string or surface line;
• Sudden pressure drops due to expansion. This usually happens when fluids flows through orifices, back
pressure regulators, or chokes.

If a small “seed” crystal of hydrate or acid gas (H 2S or CO2) is in the system and the flow rate is high with
agitation, it will definitely promote the formation of natural gas hydrates.
Hydrate formation can be predicted by using Figure 13 (for 𝛾g = 0.6, hydrates tend to form to the left of the
“hydration formation” line) and Figure 15 (for first approximations of hydrate formation conditions at
different values of gas gravity).

For example (from Figure 15), if a natural gas mixture exists with 𝛾g = 0.9 and
T = 60F, natural gas hydrate might form when the pressure is above 500 psi; if a natural gas exists with 𝛾g
= 1.0 and 𝜌 = 90 psi, then natural gas hydrate might form when the temperature is below 40F. If the natural
gas contains acid gases (H2S or CO2), the hydrate-formation envelope will expand as acid gases will increase
the possibility of hydrate formation.

27
 Figure 15: Hydrate formation prediction (GPSA, 1977)

Figure 13 also can reveal one of the greatest potential future resources of natural gas. For example, at the
ocean floor at a depth of 7,000 ft the pressure would be over 3,000 psi. This means that if the
temperature is less than 72F (from Figure 4–8) hydrates will form. The temperature is far lower, closer to
32F. This means that natural gas hydrates will form if natural gas is present. In fact, at 40F, natural
gas hydrates will form if the pressure is 250 psi, i.e., a depth of less than 600 ft. There is ample evidence
that the bottom of the oceans contains massive quantities of natural gas in the form of hydrates. In some
cases, geologists have postulated that the frozen hydrate may be the only caprock to hydrocarbon
reservoirs.

From the above examples, it is clear that hydrates can be prevented if the temperature of the natural gas
system is kept (such as by heating) above the hydrate temperature at all times; by injecting chemicals into
the system that will react with the free water, so that it will no longer be free to form hydrates; or to remove
the water altogether, so that there will be no water to form hydrates after cooling. The last option is usually
done in the gas processing plant before transporting natural gas to the customers.

There are four ways to dehydrate the natural gas: direct cooling, compression followed by cooling,
absorption, and adsorption. The last two approaches are more commonly used, as the first two usually
cannot sufficiently dehydrate the gas to pipeline requirements.

Absorption Dehydration
Absorption dehydration is the water removal process by counterflowing natural gas through a certain
liquid solvent that has special attractions or affinities for water. The liquid solvent is called a dehydrating
agent or liquid desiccant.

Dehydrating Agents

28
The most desirable dehydrating agents that can be used for commercial dehydration purposes should
possess the following important properties:

• High water absorption efficiency;

• High decomposition temperature;

• Low vaporization losses;

• Easy and economic to be separated and regenerated;

• Non-corrosive and non-toxic to the system.

Glycols such as ethylene glycol (EG), diethylene glycol (DEG), triethylene glycol (TEG), and tetraethylene
glycol (T4EG) fall into this category. Among these four, TEG is the most popularly used as it provides
superior dew point depression, is easier to regenerate to ~99%, has higher decomposition temperature
with relatively high operation reliability, low operating cost, and low vaporization losses. It can also
be used to dehydrate sweet and sour natural gases over the following range of operating conditions: dew
point depression of 40–140F, gas pressure of 25–2,500 psig, and gas temperature of 40–160F (Ikoku,
1984).

Here the dew point depression is a very important concept. It is used very often to design the water
dehydration process and determine the amount of water removed. It is the difference between the dew
point temperature of a water-saturated gas stream, and the dew point after the stream has been
dehydrated.

Glycol Dehydration Process

Figure 16 is a sketch of a typical glycol dehydration process, regardless of what type of glycols are used.
Here both the “wet” and “rich” gas means the gas is rich in water and “dry” and “lean” gas means the gas is
lean in water. Similarly, the “wet” and “rich” glycol means the glycol is rich in water and “dry” and “lean
glycol means the gas is lean in water. The separator is often referred to as the scrubber, the glycol gas
absorber as contactor, the still column as stripper, and glycol regenerator as glycol reconcentrator.

Figure 16: A sketch of a typical glycol dehydration process

The wet gas first enters a two-phase separator (not shown in Figure 16), so that the liquid can be removed
from the gas mixture. If free water is present, a three-phase separator must be used. The gas
leaving the separator from the top contains a small amount of water vapor despite the mist eliminator on
top of the separator. This still “wet” gas then enters the bottom of the glycol gas absorber, flows upwards

29
through the trayed or packed tower with mist eliminator to remove any entrained glycol droplets from the
gas stream, and exits on the top of the absorber as dry gas. The dry gas then flows through a glycol cooler
to cool the hot regenerated glycol before the glycol enters the absorber.

The dry glycol, on the other hand, flows down the tower, absorbs water from the up flowing gas mixture,
and exits at the bottom of the absorber as rich glycol. The rich glycol then flows through a reflux condenser
at the top of the still column, and enters a flash tank where most of the entrained, soluble, and volatile
components are vaporized. After leaving the flash tank, the rich glycol flows through the glycol filters and
the rich-lean glycol exchanger, where it exchanges heat with the hot lean glycol. The rich glycol then enters
the glycol regenerator that contains the still column and reboiler, where the water is removed by
distillation, and the glycol concentration is increased to meet the lean glycol requirement.

30
 CHAPTER SIX: NATURAL GAS SWEETENING—ACID GASES REMOVAL

It should be clear by now that CO2, and especially H2S, must be removed before the gas is sent to

sales. As defined in Chapter 1, sour gas means the amount of H2S in natural gas is above the

acceptable industry limits, while sweet gas means the gas virtually has no H 2S

(either it does not have it in the first place or it is treated). The process of removing H2S is called

natural gas sweetening. A summary of some of the natural gas sweetening processes are presented

in Table 4.

Table 4: Summary of the Natural Gas Sweetening Processes

31
Process Flow:

The general process flow for an alkanolamine-treating plant is shown in Figure 10.1. The basic flow varies
little for different solutions, though some designs incorporate multiple feeds and contactor sections.

Sour natural gas enters through an inlet separator for the removal of liquids and/or solids. From the
separator, the gas stream enters the bottom of the contactor, where it contacts the amine solution
flowing down from the top of the column.

The acid gas components in the gas react with the amine to form a regenerable salt. As the gas
continues to pass up the contactor, more acid gases chemically react with the amine. The sweetened gas
leaves the top of the contactor and passes through an outlet separator to catch any solution that might be
carried over. The sweet gas leaving the contactor is saturated with water, so dehydration is normally
required prior to sale. If MEA is the sweetening agent, or the contactor is operating at an unusually high
temperature, a water wash may be used to attempt to recover some of the vaporized and/or entrained
amine from the gas leaving the contactor. If a water wash is used, it generally will consist of three or four
trays at the top of the contactor, with makeup water to the unit being used as the wash liquid.

32
Rich amine solution leaving the contactor flows through a flash drum to remove absorbed
hydrocarbons or skim off. From the flash drum, the rich solution passes through the rich/lean
exchanger where heat is absorbed from the lean solution. The heated rich amine goes to the mid
portion of the stripper. As the solution flows down the column to the reboiler, it is stripped of H 2S
and CO2. The amine solution leaves the bottom of the stripper as lean solution. This lean solution is
then passed through the rich/lean exchanger and a lean cooler to reduce the lean solution temperature
to approximately 5 C warmer than the inlet gas temperature, to stay above the hydrocarbon
dew point.

At this point, the lean solution is returned to the contactor to repeat the cycle. Acid gas stripped
from the amine passes out of the top of the stripper. It goes through a condenser and separator to cool
the stream and recover water. The recovered water is usually returned to the stripper as reflux. The acid
gas from the reflux separator is either vented, incinerated, sent to sulfur recovery facilities, compressed
for sale, or reinjected into a suitable reservoir for enhanced (see acid gas injection) oil recovery
projects or for sequestration.

Figure 17: Schematic for a typical natural gas sweetening unit using a reversible chemical reaction process.

33