CHAPTER 6 LOW-TEMPERATURE PROCESSING Produced natural gas is generally associated with crude oil or condensate, and a primary separation

is made in the field. Natural gas from the field separators contains the full range of condensible hydrocarbons, such as ethane, through the C6+ heavier hydrocarbons, which are more valuable as liquids than as gaseous fuel. The heavier constituents control the hydrocarbon dew points, and their removal prevents condensate formation in pipelines and fuel delivery system. There has been a trend of increasing the ethane and propane recovery from natural gas because the demand for these liquids in chemical plants increases their value as separate products over their value as components in fuel gas. Lower separation temperatures are generally needed to accomplish the increased recovery. We have already discussed the phase behavior of the methane-ethane system (Figure 6.1). It should be noted that the maximum two-phase pressure for the methane-ethane system is 1000 psia. This level is characteristic of the maximum pressure for two phases in hydrocarbon systems at low temperature; therefore, operations at low temperature are likely to be at moderate pressures. Figure 6.1 exhibits important phase relations for low temperature processing of natural gas. Natural gas liquid, or NGL, which consists of ethane, propane, butanes, pentanes, and condensate, has been recovered by three general processes. 1. Straight refrigeration 2. Oil absorption and stripping 3. Cryogenic expansion/compression Oil absorption and stripping cannot recover ethane and propane effectively. The oil absorption plants require circulating large amounts of absorption oil, demand attendant maintenance, and consume too much fuel. An oil absorption plant can be modified to improve its propane recovery by adding a propane refrigeration cycle for cooling. Cryogenic expander plants obtain even lower temperatures than modified oil absorption plants and are capable of essentially complete ethane recovery using separation pressures in the 250-350 psia range and temperatures from -80 F to -150 F. A gas processing plant has a group of units listed below. Figure 6.2 is a schematic natural gas flow diagram. 1. Compressor 2. Heat exchanger 3. Cooling water, exchangers, air cooler systems 4. Expansion coolers 5. Refrigeration systems 6. Gas absorbers and strippres 7. Gas adsorption units 8. Fractionation columns (demethanizer, deethanizer and depropanizer) 9. Heating and stripping stills 10. Condensers 11. Vapor/liquid separators 12. Expanders/compressors 13. Circulating pumps

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6.1 GAS ABSORPTION VERSUS FRACTIONATION The two common towers A and B in Figure 6.3 appear to be performing the same function. For column A, an absorber, absorption of selected constituents from a rising gas by a liquid passing downward is taking place in a vertical cylindrical vessel. The trays or plates are vapor liquid contactors for bringing the two phases into equilibrium. The liquid is an absorbent "oil" pumped to the top of the vessel. Liquifiable constituents in the entering gas are extracted and leave along with the rich oil containing dissolved gas. In column B, a fractionator, with its series of plates or trays, a similar contacting process takes place but with a different driving force. The differences in the volatility of the constituents cause vapor-liquid exchange of constituents at the trays or plates. The feed to the column may be a liquid/gas mixture or all of one phase or the other. Heat is applied at the bottom of the still or reboiler to generate the rising vapor. Some of the top vapor is condensed to provide a re-flux liquid, which carries constituents of lower volatility downward. Actually, a fractionation column can perform both absorption in the rectifying section and stripping in the lower part of the column. In gas processing, removal of a constituent from a gas phase by a solvent liquid, e.g., propane by absorber oil or water by a glycol solution, is carried out in a gas absorption type plant. When a natural gas liquid is to be separated as in demethanizers, deethanizers, or splitters, a fractionation process is required with a heat input at the base of the column and cooling at the top to form a reflux. 6.2 COOLING IN GAS PROCESSING Cooling of gases flowing from wells takes place in chokes, which lower the pressure at constant enthalpy (H) -the Joule-Thomson effect. Cooling water is used to adjust warm streams to the ambient temperature in heat exchangers, or the passage of gases and/or liquids through air-cooled finned tube banks is used to vent heat. Most of the cooling duty below the ambient temperature in a gas-processing plant is supplied by the propane refrigeration cycle. 6.2.1 Joule-Thomson Effect The Joule-Thomson coefficient is defined as the change in temperature upon expansion which occurs without heat transfer or work and is expressed with the formula,

=(

1 V T )-V] ) = [T( T P H C p

(6.1)

In terms of reduced quantities the above equation becomes,

z R T2 Tc 1 r ) =( )( )( )( Pr P c C p T r p

(6.2)

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where, Tr, Pr = reduced temperature and pressure of the gas, Cp = specific heat capacity of the gas, Tc, Pc = critical temperature and pressure of the gas, = Joule-Thomson coefficient According to the definition, the gas cools down when the coefficient is positive and heats up when the coefficient is negative. 6.2.2 Propane Refrigeration Cycle To bring a stream below the ambient temperature, refrigeration is used. Propane is a commonly used refrigerant. As shown in Figure 6.4, the cycle consists of dropping the pressure on liquid propane at A to pressure B, causing vaporization and chilling of the lower-pressure mixture, which absorbs heat. The saturated vapor at C is compressed to D, a superheated vapor at the same pressure as A. Energy removal at the higher temperature by cooling water or air returns propane to the liquid state at A to complete the cycle. Figure 6.5 is a schematic flow chart of a refrigerant cycle. The refrigerant, propane, is condensed at high pressure by cooling water and then passes through the chiller, where the condensed liquid expands and vaporizes to absorb heat from the counter current flowing fluid, natural gas. The vaporized refrigerant leaving the chiller will be compressed back to high pressure and be ready to be cooled and condensed again.

Figure 6.1 Phase diagram of methane-ethane mixture.

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