Natural Gas Technology M.Sc.

Nabeel Nasrawi

Basic Concepts of Natural Gas Processing

1.1 Introduction
Raw natural gas from production wells contains a full range of hydrocarbons, carbon
dioxide, hydrogen sulfide, nitrogen, water, and other impurities.
They can originate from any one of three types of production wells: crude oil wells,
gas wells, and condensate wells. Natural gas that comes from crude oil wells is the
associated gas. Gas can exist as a gas cap over the crude oil reservoirs, or can be
dissolved by the crude oil under pressure. Natural gas from gas wells or from
condensate wells, in which there is little or no crude oil, is the Nonassociated gas.
Gas wells generally produce sour natural gas, while condensate wells produce
natural gas condensate or gasoline that is saturated with natural gas. Raw natural
gas can also come from unconventional sources. Natural gas can be found in coal
seam, as the coal-bed methane gas. It can be the associated gas from shale oil
production. Natural gas from offshore wells is another source. The unconventional
sources typically contain a high level of CO2 and nitrogen, which can be found in
different parts of the world. These gas reservoirs are believed to be much larger than
previous prediction. As technology in exploration and drilling advances, the
unconventional reserves are becoming economically attractive and will become an
important source of energy supply. The objective of a natural gas processing plant is
to produce a methane-rich gas by removing the acid gases, heavy hydrocarbons,
nitrogen, water, and other impurities.

1.2 Natural gas processing objectives

Raw natural gas stream must be treated to comply with emissions regulations and
pipeline gas specifications. Typical pipeline gas specifications are shown in
Table below. The specifications are to ensure gas qualities and provide a clean and
safe fuel gas to the consumers. The product gas must meet the heating values or
Wobbe Index (WI) specifications, which are required to ensure optimum operation of
gas turbines and combustion equipment to minimize emissions. Pipeline operators
also require the product gas to be interchangeable and similar in properties with
existing pipeline gas.

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When the gas is high in heavy hydrocarbon contents, they must be removed to meet
the heating value specification. The removed liquid can typically command a higher
value than natural gas for the same heating value. Propane and butane can be sold
as liquefied petroleum gas (LPG). Ethane can be used as feedstock to
petrochemical plants.
The C5+ components can be exported to refineries as a blending stock for gasoline.
It is important to recognize the definitions and specifications of the treated gas and
product specifications. Sometimes a slight change on the product specifications may
have significant impacts on the treatment and processing options, which will affect
the cost and complexity of the gas plant.

1.3 Gas processing plant configurations

The gas processing plant configuration and complexity depend upon the feed gas
compositions and the levels of treating and processing required in meeting product
specifications and emission limits. Liquid values can also be the drivers for process
complexity, which determines the levels of NGL components to be recovered.
Figure below shows two simplified gas processing plant schematics. The first
scheme is to remove condensate, sulfur, and the heavier components to meet sales
gas specifications. The second scheme is to process the feed gas for recovery of the
NGL components to increase plant revenues. The residue gas is typically
recompressed to a sales gas pipeline. It can also be sent to a natural gas

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Two different schemes of gas processing plants

liquefaction plant for liquefied natural gas (LNG) production, used as fuel gas to
power plants, or as a feedstock to petrochemical plants. The gas processing plant
must be a “fit-for-purpose” design, meeting the project economics and environmental
requirements. While contaminants and sulfur must be removed to meet emissions
requirements as shown in the first scheme, the extent of processing in the second
schemes is project specific. It depends on the commercial agreements between
upstream producers and downstream product distributors and buyers.

1.3.1 Gas plant with hydrocarbon dewpointing

Raw gas to a gas processing plant can be relatively lean, that is, containing a small
amount of C2+ hydrocarbons. This lean gas can be processed by the process units
as shown in Figure below. The main process units consist of acid gas removal, gas
dehydration, and hydrocarbon dewpoint control. There are other off-site support
systems such as the sulfur recovery, and tail gas treating and sulfur production,
which are necessary to meet environmental requirements. If the gas contains liquid
condensate, a condensate stabilization unit is required. If the gas contains high
levels of nitrogen, nitrogen rejection is required. Other units such as gas
compression unit may also be required.

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Process units in a gas plant with hydrocarbon dewpointing

1.3.1.1 Inlet facility

Feed gas from production wells arriving at the inlet facility is first separated in the
inlet facility, which typically includes slug catchers, separation equipment, and
pressure protection system. Typically, a highly reliability safety system is installed at
the inlet to protect the gas plant from a block discharged emergency condition. The
slug catcher is designed with adequate surge volume to hold the maximum liquid
slug during the piping pigging operation and to provide to a steady flow to the
stabilization unit.
The slug catcher is typically located at a safe distance from the gas plant, with
adequate separation distance for safety reasons. The design is either a “vessel type”
or a “finger type.” A vessel-type slug catcher consists of a phase separator for vapor,
liquid, and water and a storage vessel to contain the liquid slug during pigging.
The design is suitable to handle feed gas with high gas to liquid ratio and a steady
flow. It is used where there is a space limitation, such as in offshore platform
installation. The finger-type slug catcher is common in land-based plants where
there are no space constraints. It is less costly than the vessel type, especially in
high-pressure (HP) services. It consists of multiple long pieces of pipes, which
provide the surge volume. Produced gas from the slug catcher is directed to a HP
separator, which protects the gas plant from upstream system upset. The water
content in the liquids from the slug catcher is separated and sent to a sour water
stripper unit. The hydrocarbon liquids are processed in a condensate stabilization
unit to reduce its vapor pressure for storage and transport. The produced water
typically containing monoethylene glycol (MEG) used for hydrate control can be
reclaimed in a MEG reclamation unit. Other contaminants, such as corrosion
inhibitors and salts content, must be removed before MEG can be reused in the
upstream unit.

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1.3.1.2 Condensate stabilization

The condensate contains dissolved light hydrocarbons and H2S, which must be
removed to meet the export condensate specifications. A condensate stabilization
unit is designed to produce a condensate with 4 ppm H2S and RVP (Reid vapor
pressure) specifications, ranging from 8 to 12 psi. The stabilizer overhead vapor is
compressed and recycled to the HP separator. There are different design options in
configuring the stabilization unit. The H2S content in the condensate from the
stabilization unit can typically meet 10H2S ppmv specifications. However, it may
contain higher levels of organic sulfurs such as Carbonyl sulfide (COS) and
mercaptans (Mercaptans are the organic components of hydrocarbons with sulfur).
If condensate is exported as a product, the total sulfur content must be met, and a
separate unit for removal of the mercaptans content may be necessary. If the
condensate is sent to refineries, the condensate can be blended with the refinery
feedstock and treated in the refinery units.

1.3.1.3 Acid gas removal unit

The acid gas removal unit is designed to remove the acidic components to meet
sales gas sulfur and CO2 specifications. H2S must be removed to meet the sales
gas specification of 4 ppmv, or ¼ grains per 100 scf of gas. In addition, COS,
mercaptans, and other organic sulfur species must be removed. Considering today’s
strict emission regulations, acid gas removal unit alone may not be sufficient to meet
the requirements. Treated gas from the acid gas removal unit may need to be further
treated with additional units, such as molecular sieves or sulfur scavengers.

1.3.1.4 Sulfur recovery and handling unit

Acid gas from the amine regenerator contains concentrated H2S, which cannot be
vented for safety reasons or flared due to acid gas pollution. If reinjection wells are
available, acid gas can be reinjected back to the reservoirs for sequestration, which
would avoid the investment of a sulfur recovery unit. In most instances, where
reinjection facility is not available, H2S is processed in a sulfur recovery unit. The
sulfur recovery unit can be coupled with a tail gas treating unit to achieve 99.9%
sulfur removal to meet today’s emission target.

1.3.1.5 Gas dehydration unit

Treated gas from the acid gas removal is fed to the gas dehydration unit to meet the
water dewpoint specification for pipeline transmission, typically 7 lbs water/ MMscf.
In colder climate areas, the water dewpoint specification can be as low as -40 ̊ F in
order to avoid hydrate formation in the pipeline. Depending on the plant capacity and
extent of drying, different types of dehydration methods are available, including
glycol dehydration and solid desiccant (i.e., molecular sieves, silica gels, activated
alumina) dehydration.

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1.3.1.6 Hydrocarbon dewpointing

The hydrocarbon dewpoint temperature must be reduced to a lower temperature that
is below the coldest ambient temperature during transmission. This is to avoid
hydrocarbon liquid condensation in the pipeline, which is a safety hazard. Depending
on the phase envelop of the pipeline gas, the hydrocarbon dewpoint can actually
increase when the pressure is lowered, which must be considered in the design of
the unit.

1.3.1.7 Nitrogen rejection

Nitrogen content in natural gas varies depending on the gas reservoirs. Nitrogen can
be naturally occurring in high concentration in some gas fields, such as in the South
China Sea where 30–50% nitrogen content gas can be found. For onshore facilities
where nitrogen injection is employed for enhanced oil recovery, nitrogen content can
also be very high. When nitrogen is present in high concentrations, it should be
removed downstream of the NGL recovery unit. Heavy hydrocarbons must be
removed in the NGL recovery unit, as these hydrocarbons will solidify in the
cryogenic section of the nitrogen rejection unit. If the gas is used for LNG production,
the nitrogen content must be removed to below 1 mol% to meet LNG specification.
Nitrogen is not desirable in LNG product, as it will lower the liquefaction temperature,
which would increase the power consumption. Nitrogen removal by cryogenic
separation is more efficient than other alternatives. Membrane separators and
molecular sieves can be used for nitrogen rejection, but their processing capacity is
relatively limited. They are suitable for bulk separation, and are not economical to
meet stringent specifications. The rejected nitrogen would contain a significant
amount of hydrocarbons, which may be an environmental issue.

1.3.1.8 Gas compression and transmission

Feed gas to the gas plant is typically reduced in pressure such that phase
separation is practical. Most often, recompression of the residual gas to the pipeline
pressure is necessary.

1.3.2 Gas plant for NGL production

When the feed gas contains a significant amount of liquids, the C3+ hydrocarbons,
there are economic incentives to produce the LPG and sometimes ethane liquid as
byproducts. The liquid facility typically includes storage, pipeline, metering, and care
transfer, and must include safety system to protect against liquid leakage or spillage.
This type of plant is complex and costs more than the simple hydrocarbon dewpoint
plant.
Figure below illustrates a block flow diagram of a gas plant for NGL production. The
following sections describe the units that are unique to NGL production. The balance
of plant is similar to the hydrocarbon dewpointing plant.

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FIGURE 3-3 Process units in a gas plant for NGL production.

1.3.2.1 CO2 removal

CO2 removal is required to meet the sales gas CO2 specification, typically limited to
2–3 mol%. CO2 may need to be removed to even a lower level to avoid CO2
freezing in the cold section of the NGL recovery unit. Typically, in propane recovery
process, 2 mol% of CO2, can be tolerated as the NGL column operates at a warmer
temperature. Deep CO2 removal may not be required, unless the gas is sent to a
liquefaction unit, which, in this case, would require CO2 to be removed down to 50
ppmv. If the NGL recovery unit is used for ethane recovery, the demethanizer
column would operate at a much lower temperature, which is prone to CO2 freeze.
Even CO2 freezing may not be a problem, a good portion of the CO2 will condense
with the ethane product, which may not meet the CO2 specification in the ethane
product (typical Y-Grade NGL limits CO2 content in ethane to 500 ppmv). When
ethane recovery is required, design must ensure that CO2 in the feed gas to be
removed sufficiently to avoid CO2 freezing as well as meeting the CO2 specification
of the ethane product.

1.3.2.2 Dehydration
For NGL recovery, the demethanizer must operate at low temperatures. This would
require sufficient water to be removed to avoid hydrate formation in the columns. If
only propane recovery is considered, the column operates at a warmer temperature,
at about 60 F. In this case, the use of DRIZO triethylene glycol (TEG) dehydration
may be sufficient. TEG unit is more compact than molecular sieve unit and is more
suitable for offshore design. If ethane recovery is required, then molecular sieve
dehydration is necessary.

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1.3.2.3 Mercury removal

Mercury is invariably present in the feed gas in ppm levels. Mercury removal using
carbon beds or catalytic beds is required to avoid the risks of mercury attack on the
brazed aluminum heat exchangers. Brazed aluminum exchangers are commonly
used in NGL recovery process to achieve high NGL recovery. Aluminum material is
very reactive with mercury and can be corroded quickly resulting in failure of the
exchangers. The mercury removal bed is typically designed with mercury removal to
below 0.01 mg/Nm3 . The mercury removal step can be positioned upstream of the
acid gas removal unit or downstream of the dehydration unit. Installing the mercury
removal unit upstream can prevent mercury migration to downstream units, ensuring
both the sales gas and the liquid products are mercury free.

1.3.2.4 NGL recovery

There are numerous NGL patents and proprietary technologies for NGL recovery.
Unlike acid gas removal unit, the NGL recovery process selection must be evaluated
based on meeting the NGL recovery levels, feed gas pressure, temperature, gas
compositions, and product specifications, as well as NGL recovery flexibility. The
NGL process must be designed to handle a rich gas case and a lean gas case. If
nitrogen injection is considered in the same formation, the higher nitrogen feed gas
case must be considered in the design. Typically, the design of the front section of
the NGL recovery unit is controlled by the rich gas case operating in the summer, as
the refrigeration duty is higher. However, the lean gas and the high nitrogen gas
would control the design of the demethanizer and the residue gas compressor as the
gas flow is higher. The NGL recovery unit can be designed for propane recovery or
ethane recovery. For operating flexibility, the NGL process can be designed for
ethane recovery that can be operated on ethane rejection when ethane margins are
low. Another alternative is to design the unit for propane recovery that can be
operated on ethane recovery.
NGL product compositions depend on the desirable propane and ethane recovery.
NGL product pump and NGL pipeline must be designed for the ethane recovery
operation as the NGL flow rate and the pipeline pressure are higher. NGL is typically
transported to an NGL fractionation center, which would produce the final liquid
products. The NGL products may need additional treatment and processing to meet
the product specifications.

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