Introduction

• The Natural Gas found in underground reservoirs differs from the finished product
sold on the market. Gas has no use to consumers in its natural state, therefore it
must go through numerous stages of treatment and processing before being
purchased and consumed.

• The major technical components of gas processing and conditioning will be covered
in this course (Gas Processing and Conditioning Fundamentals). It will provides a
comprehensive grasp of the equipment and processes used in conventional
separation and gas treating systems, as well as a complete and up-to-date review of
gas conditioning and processing technologies.

• The course will also cover gas dehydration, sweetening, and processing activities, as
well as the integration of separate processing operations, natural gas gathering,
separation, and final treatment systems, and the notions of export grade natural
gas, field, and fiscal measurements inaccuracy.
 Learning Objectives

This Course is designed to provide a fundamental knowledge

outcome that is reflective of an Overview of Natural Gas
Processing, Gas Separation System, Natural Gas Sweetening,
Dehydration, Liquid Recovery and a Case study Simulation of
Natural Gas Processing.
 Module Three Learning Outcomes
At the End of this Module, Participants should be able:
•Identify components and specifications of NGL.

•Explain the Processing objectives of NGL.

•Explain the Value of NGL.

•Identify the typical specification for transportable and sales Gas.

•Identify Natural Liquid Recovery Processes.
 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 product.

Most natural gas is processed to remove the heavier hydrocarbon liquids from the natural gas stream.
These heavier hydrocarbon liquids, commonly referred to as natural gas liquids (NGLs), include
ethane, propane, butanes, and natural gasoline.

LNG is not NGL

• LNG – Liquified Natural Gas is methane
• NGL – Natural Gas Liquids are ethane,
propane, butane, pentane
INTRODUCTION
Why NGL recovery?

Recovery of NGL components in

natural gas is required for:

•Hydrocarbon dew point control in a

natural gas stream (to avoid the unsafe
formation of a liquid phase during
transport).

•A source of revenue, as NGLs normally

have significantly greater value as
separate marketable products than as
part of the natural gas stream.
NGL COMPONENTS AND SPECIFICATIONS
NGL COMPONENTS AND SPECIFICATIONS
The C2+ NGL mixture recovered from an NGL recovery
unit is sometimes referred to as “Y-grade NGL” or “raw
NGL mix”.
The Y-grade NGL is typically transported to a centralized
facility for fractionation where the mixed NGLs are
separated into discrete NGL products: ethane, ethane-
propane mix, propane, normal butane, iso-butane, and
natural gasoline.

The Y-grade NGL typically must meet the specifications as

specified in the table above.

The Y-grade liquids must be free from sand, dust, gums,

gum-producing substances, oil, glycol, inhibitor, amine,
caustics, chlorides, oxygenates, heavy metals, and any
other contaminants or additives used to meet
specifications.

Modern gas processing facilities produce a single ethane

plus product (normally called Y-grade) which is often sent
offsite for further fractionation and processing.
 INTRODUCTION TO LOW TEMPERATURE SEPARATION
Another classification of oilfield separators is by
application such as
- test separators
- production separators
- low temperature separators
- metering separators
- elevated separators
- stage separators
A low-temperature separator is a special separator in which high-pressure well fluid is jetted into the vessel through a
choke or pressure reducing valve so that the separator temperature is reduced appreciably below the well-fluid
temperature.

The temperature reduction is obtained by the Joule- Thomson effect of expanding well fluid as it flows through the
pressure-reducing choke or valve into the separator.

The lower operating temperature in the separator causes condensation of vapors that otherwise would exit the
separator in the vapor state.
Liquids thus recovered require stabilization to prevent excessive evaporation in the storage tanks
 LOW TEMPERATURE SEPARATION
If sufficient pressure is available, the removal of hydrocarbon 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.

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.

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.
 LOW TEMPERATURE SEPARATION
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
 SALES GAS
Sales Gas

Sales Gas is the raw natural gas, after processing to remove Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG), condensate and
carbon dioxide. Sales Gas usually consists mainly of methane and ethane and is odorised.

Production of sales-quality gas requires all processing required meeting pipeline specifications. H2S and CO2
must be removed, if present in sufficient amount.

Dehydration is also required, generally after the compression because free water is condensed in the
compressor after-cooler. Recovery of condensate depends on the heating value requirement of the sales gas,
and hydrocarbon dew point specifications.

If the condensate content is low it is not necessary to remove it.

If the gas contains nitrogen, it may be necessary to retain the heavier hydrocarbons in order to meet the
heating value specifications.
 SALES GAS
Specifications for sales gas describe the required physical properties of the gas such that it can be transported under
high pressure through long distance pipelines at ground temperature without forming liquids, which could cause
corrosion, hydrates, or liquid slugs into downstream equipment.

Limits on the content of certain nonhydrocarbon compounds are also specified. While the specific limits for each item
might vary among transmission companies or customers, the overall specifications for sales gas generally include:

•Maximum hydrocarbon dewpoint temperature at a pressure of 800 psig.

•Maximum allowable CO2 content.
•Maximum allowable H2S content and total organic sulfur content.
•Maximum allowable water-vapor content.
•Maximum allowable temperature of gas leaving the plant.
•Minimum pressure to enter the gas transmission grid.
•Minimum heating value.
•Free of dust, treating chemicals, and other contaminants from the process plant.

In long distance transmission of sales gas by pipeline, the pressure is usually less than 1,000 psig. It is important that
no liquids form in the line because of condensation of either hydrocarbons or water. Hydrocarbon liquids reduce the
pipeline efficiency and might hold up in the line to form liquid slugs, which might damage downstream compression
equipment.
 TRANSPORTABLE GAS
Production of a transportable gas stream implies minimal processing in the field and transport through a
pipeline to a final processing plant.

Three main constituents or concern are: i) water, ii) hydrogen sulfide (H2S), and iii) condensate.

In order to economically design the pipeline diameter the gas should be transported in high pressure (high
density) conditions.

Since the pipeline is exposed to the ambient temperature, relatively low temperatures may be encountered.

Water must be removed to a level that will prevent hydrate formation in the pipeline. Therefore it is important
to treat the gas such that the hydrate formation curve on the phase envelops is shifted to the lower
temperature regions of the envelope.

If the lowest expected temperature (LET) is higher than the hydrate point in the gas, then water removal may
not be absolutely necessary. Corrosion due to water formation may be controlled by corrosion inhibitors.

Hydrogen sulfide corrosion may also be dealt with if internal pipe coating materials are used for short
distances.
 TRANSPORTABLE GAS
If the hydrocarbon dew-point is less than the LET, then no processing is required for condensate removal
either. If the cricondenbar of the gas is higher than the LET, pipeline pressure may fall into the retrograde zone
and condensation will occur. If condensate is not removed, the pipeline path passes into the retrograde zone
and two phases are produced.

Two phase flow requires a larger pipe diameter than single-phase flow. A slug catching facility should also be
designed to handle the condensate. If it is decided to remove the condensate, the gas should be cooled down
followed by a phase separation process.

The phase diagram of a liquids-depleted natural gas is different in the sense it is more compact with narrower
two-phase region. Therefore the transport pass has little chance to hit the dew point curve and thus no
condensation will occur.

If it is decided to compress the gas and transport the dense-phase, the gas should be maintained at a pressure
higher than the cricondenbar throughout the pipeline, which of course prevents the formation of two phases
at any point.

In any given case a sound understanding of the phase behavior is required before any cost benefit analysis can
be made to select the preferable design.
 MAXIMUM NGL RECOVERY

This three situations motivate maximum condensate recovery.

•Condensate is often more valuable if recovered from associated gas and injected
into crude oil to enhance its quality (API degree).

•Processing of retrograde condensate gas is performed to recover the gas and inject
the gas to the reservoir to maintain the formation pressure and reduce the
possibility of hydrocarbon retrograde condensation due to lowered pressure
conditions.

•NGL recovery enhances the profit in many gas exploitation projects as it is as

valuable as the best quality crude oils.
 LIQUID RECOVERY PROCESSES
There are various processes in natural gas liquids recovery, depending on the feed
gas compositions, the recovery levels, and the product target specifications.

It can vary from the simple hydrocarbon dew point controlling unit to the more
complex cryogenic turboexpander units.

While some designs can be standardized, the variations in feed gas composition and
recovery targets require some modifications of the standard units.
 LIQUID RECOVERY PROCESSES
Hydrocarbon Dew Point Controlling With Joule- Thomson Cooling

When the feed gas is available at high pressure, the gas high pressure can be used to
generate cooling by isenthalpic expansion or Joule-Thomson cooling.

The gas cooling effect will cause heavy hydrocarbons to drop out. Removal of the
heavy hydrocarbons can then meet the hydrocarbon dew point specification.
However, even if the hydrocarbon dew point were met, the product gas still may not
meet the specifications on heating value and Wobbe Index, if the ethane content is
high, such as the shale gas.

The conventional dew pointing unit is designed to recover condensate hydrocarbons

and can only recover a moderate level of the propane C3+ product. If high propane
recovery is required, a deep hydrocarbon dew pointing process (Fluor Process) can be
used which can recover over 95% propane.
 LIQUID RECOVERY PROCESSES
Hydrocarbon Dew Point Controlling With Joule- Thomson Cooling
 LIQUID RECOVERY PROCESSES
Cryogenic NGL Recovery Processes

A turbo-expander is a centrifugal or axial machine through which a high-pressure gas is expanded

to produce work that is often used to drive a compressor.
 
In cryogenic NGL recovery processes, the turboexpander achieves two different but
complementary functions. The main function is to generate refrigeration to cool the gas stream.
 
The concept was to use turboexpander, which is a more efficient method of cooling, to generate
cooling instead of the J-T valve.

The feed gas is cooled by the cold demethanizer overhead and separated in the HP cold separator.
The separator vapor is let down in pressure using the turboexpander and fed to the top of the
demethanizer as a reflux.

The HP cold separator liquid is let down in pressure to the LP cold separator. The separator liquid
is further let down and used to cool the feed gas before it is fed to the lower part of the
demethanizer
 LIQUID RECOVERY PROCESSES
Cryogenic NGL Recovery Processes
 LIQUID RECOVERY PROCESSES
Lean Oil Absorption
The early 1910s saw the development of the lean oil absorption technique, which was utilized solely until the 1970s.

Lean oil is a hydrocarbon liquid when in contact with natural gas absorbs heavier hydrocarbons.

This allowed for more gas condensate to be recovered.

Permitting more specific natural gas products to be produced.

Lean oil absorption is only one way to separate various products in natural gas.

A less expensive process is by refrigerating the gas to remove the propane and heavier hydrocarbons.
 
Lean-Oil Absorption Primary Systems
 
•Recovery

•Rejection

•Separation
LIQUID RECOVERY PROCESSES
 LIQUID RECOVERY PROCESSES
Dual Column Reflux Process

The dual column process was quite common

among NGL recovery units.

Typically, the first column acts as an absorber

recovering the bulk of the NGL components and
the second column serves as deethanizer during
propane recovery and demethanizer during
ethane recovery.

Adding refluxes to the dual column design

process was originally configured for high
propane recovery.

The process is very efficient and can achieve over

99% propane recovery.
LIQUID RECOVERY PROCESSES
Feed gas, typically supplied at about 1000
psig, is first dried using molecular sieve
dryers, and then cooled in a feed
exchanger (BAHX).

The feed gas is chilled with the absorber

overhead vapor, cold separator liquid,
and the absorber bottoms.

Refrigeration is generated using a

turboexpander by expanding the
separator gas to the absorber typically
operating at 450 psig.

When processing a rich feed gas, propane

refrigeration is often used to supplement
the cooling requirement.
 LIQUID RECOVERY PROCESSES
Solid Bed Adsorption
Solid bed adsorption process can be designed to
selectively remove specific hydrocarbons. The
adsorbent can be silica gel (i.e., Sorbead) that can be
designed to remove most of the C6+ hydrocarbons.
 
A typical two-bed adsorption process is shown in the
image. Regeneration is accomplished by passing
heated recycle gas through the bed. The heavy
hydrocarbon is recovered from the regeneration gas
by cooling, condensation, and separation.
 
The solid bed adsorption process can be used to
adsorb hydrocarbons at high pressure.

This process has an advantage over the refrigeration

process which depends on low pressure for phase
separation
 SELECTION OF THE NGL RECOVERY PROCESS
The NGL recovery process must be selected based on the feed gas composition (GPM), feed gas
inlet pressure, and residue gas delivery pressure.
 
The ethane content in the feed gas is important as it will determine the design that meets the
sales gas heating value specification.
 
The amount of ethane recovered or removed with the selected process must meet the sales gas
heating specification, typically 1200 Btu/scf.
 
If the NGL unit is designed for ethane recovery, the unit must be able to operate in ethane
rejection mode without propane losses.

Ethane rejection operation is necessary when ethane price is lower than natural gas price, on a
Btu basis. Ethane recovery may become profitable if there is a high demand for ethane.
 
 SELECTION OF THE NGL RECOVERY PROCESS
The NGL unit must be able to operate between these two recoveries modes.
 
Typically, the cost of an NGL recovery unit is a minor contributor to the total plant cost, and in most cases,
moderate to high level of recovery can be justified.

Other supporting facilities, such as inlet gas compression, gas treating, dehydration, product treating, product
storage, and liquid handling and transportation systems must be evaluated.

High recovery will require an increase in storage, transportation, and liquid handling facility.

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

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).
Hope Everything is
Clear so far?
Thank you for
Your TIME