Reservoir Engineering for Technicians

RESR1003

3. Gas Laws

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IDEAL GASES

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 Ideal or Perfect Gases
• An ideal gas is as a hypothetical gas that helps model and
predict the behavior of real gases.
• There are three important approximations of an ideal gas:
1. Interactions between particles are perfectly elastic
collisions (i.e. no kinetic energy is converted to other
forms of energy during the collision).
2. Particles do not occupy any space (i.e. they have no
volume).
3. No intermolecular forces affecting movement of particles
within the gas. (i.e. gas molecules do not attract or repel
each other.)

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Ideal vs Real Gases

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 Ideal vs Real Gases
At high temperatures and low pressures, these
are pretty good approximations, as all particle
interactions become negligible due to the increase
in volume, leading to lots of ‘space’ between the
particles.

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 Natural Gas & The Ideal
Gas Laws
• Under normal distribution pressures, natural
gas follows the ideal gas laws quite closely.
• However, when gas pressures increase, a wide
variation between the actual and ideal volumes
of the gas may occur.
• To understand fully what happens when natural
gas is subjected to changes in p & T, the
fundamental gas laws must be reviewed.

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 Gas Laws Intro
• Created in the early 17th century, the gas laws
assist in finding volumes, amount, pressures
and temperature of gas.
• The gas laws consist of three primary laws:
1. Boyle's Law
2. Charles' Law
3. Avogadro's Law

All of which combine into the Ideal Gas Law.

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 Gas Laws
• Boyle's Law: the volume of gas increases as
the pressure decreases.
• Charles' Law: the volume of gas increases as
the temperature increases.
• Avogadro's Law: the volume of gas increases
as the amount of gas increases.

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 Absolute Units
NB: All calculations using the Gas Laws are in
Absolute Units.
In reservoir engineering:
• Absolute temperature in Rankine:
°R = °F + 460

• Absolute pressure in psia:

ppsia = ppsig + patm
ppsia = ppsig + 14.7 psia
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 Standard Conditions
• Standard temperature
Tsc = 60 °F
Tsc = 60 + 460 = 520 °R

• Standard pressure,
psc = 14.7 psia

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 °R = °F + 460

Absolute temperature
starts at 0°R (or -460°F)
where theoretically no
molecular motion exists

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 Boyle’s Law

The pressure of a gas is indirectly

proportional to its volume at
constant temperature.
P1V1=P2V2
Where
P1=Initial Pressure
V1=Initial Volume
P2=Final Pressure
V2=Final Volume
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 Boyle’s Law Example 1
A 2.5 ft3 sample of gas is at 14.9 psia. Calculate
the volume if the pressure becomes 14.2 psia, with
a fixed amount of gas and temperature?

P1V1=P2V2

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 Charles' Law
Charles' Law: the volume of
a gas is directly proportional
to its absolute temperature, at
constant pressure
V1/T1 = V2/T2
Where
V1=Initial Volume
T1=Initial Temperature
V2=Final Volume
T2=Final Temperature
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 Charles' Law E.g. 2
A mass of carbon dioxide in a pump has volume of
500 ft3 and it is at 50 oF. If pressure remains
constant, calculate the new volume of carbon
dioxide if temperature is increased to 100 oF.

V1/T1 = V2/T2

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 Avogadro’s Law
Avogadro’s Law states equal volumes at the same
temperature and pressure contain equal numbers of moles of
gas. i.e. volume and the number of moles are directly
proportional.
n1/V1 = n2/V2
Where
n1=Initial number of moles in the gas
V1=Initial volume
n2=Final number of moles in the gas
A mole of anything contains the
V2=Final volume Avogadro number of particles
(NA) = 6.022 x 1023 mol-1
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Avogadro’s Law

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Ideal Gas Law
Setting all three gas laws
proportional to volume,

Adding constant, R,

Ideal Gas Law,

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 Ideal Gas Law

Where
• p = pressure, psia
• V = volume, ft3 or scf
• n = number of moles in the gas, lb-mol
• R = the universal gas constant = 10.732 psia-ft3/(lb-mol-oR)
• T = absolute temperature, oR

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 Ideal Gas Law Eg 3
Calculate the value of the universal gas
constant, R, at standard conditions of 14.73
psia & 60 oF for 1 lb-mole of an ideal gas
occupying 378.6 scf.

PV = nRT

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 Gas Laws Summary
1. Boyle’s Law:, the volume and pressure
of a gas are inversely proportional, at P1V1=P2V2
constant temperature
2. Charles’ Law: the volume of a gas is
directly proportional to its absolute V1/T1 = V2/T2
temperature, at constant pressure
3. Avogadro’s Law: equal volumes at the
same temperature and pressure contain n1/V1 = n2/V2
equal numbers of moles of gas
4. When combined, form the Ideal Gas Law
PV = nRT

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 Combined Ideal Gas Law
• Number of moles = mass/molar mass,

• Replacing n in Ideal Gas Law

• Combining with density, 𝑚 pM

ρ g= =
𝑉 RT
• Rearranging, R
p = ρg T
M
Where:
ρg =density of gas in lb/ft3
m = mass in lb
M = molar mass in lb/lb-mol
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 Ideal Gas Law Eg 4
1. Three pounds of n-butane are placed in a
vessel at 120°F and 60 psia. Calculate the
volume of the gas assuming an ideal gas
behavior.
2. Using the data given in the above example,
calculate the density n-butane.

pV = nRT pM R
ρ g= p = ρg T
RT M

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1. Molecular weight of n-butane C4H10 = 58

2. density

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 Natural Gas Properties
Important physical and chemical properties of natural
gas include:

1. Apparent molecular 6. Isothermal gas

weight, Ma
2. Density, ρg
3. Specific volume, v
4. Specific gravity, sg (
5. Compressibility factor, z
compressibility coefficient,
cg
7. Gas formation volume
factor, Bg
8. Gas expansion factor, Eg
9. Viscosity, µg

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 Apparent Molecular Weight, Ma
• A gas mixture (e.g. natural gas) does not have a unique
molecular weight, but it behaves as though it does.
• Thus, the concept of apparent or average molecular
weight, Ma is useful in characterizing a gas mixture.
• The apparent molecular weight of a gas mixture is a
pseudoproperty of the mixture.
• The gas laws can be applied to gas mixtures by simply
using apparent molecular weights instead of the single-
component molecular weight in the formulas.

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 Calculating Apparent Molecular
Weight, Ma

where
• Ma = apparent molecular weight of the natural gas
mixture
• yi = mole fraction of component i in the mixture
• Mi = molecular weight of each component in the mixture

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 Example 5 Ma = ∑ yi Mi
Calculate the Apparent Molecular Weight Ma of a
natural gas mixture with the following composition
Component Mole Fraction, yi
Methane 0.937
Ethane 0.022
Propane 0.015
Nitrogen 0.026
1.000
 From Tables

Component Mole Molecular yi Mi

Fraction, yi Weight, Mi

Methane 0.937 16.04 0.937 x 16.04

= 15.029
Ethane 0.022

Propane 0.015

Nitrogen 0.026

∑
1.000
M a
M =
= y i M i
a
 From Tables

Component Mole Molecular yi Mi

Fraction, yi Weight, Mi

Methane 0.937 16.04 15.029

Ethane 0.022 30.07 0.662

Propane 0.015 44.09 0.661

Nitrogen 0.026 28.02 0.728

Ma = ∑ yi Mi
= 1.000

Ma =17.08
 2. Density, ρg
Replace MW of the pure component with Ma of the gas
mixture in Ideal Gas Equation:
pM
ρ g=
RT

Where: ρg = density of the gas mixture, lb/ft3

Ma = apparent molecular weight

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 3. Specific Volume, v
The volume occupied by a unit mass of the gas:

Where: v = specific volume, ft3/lb

ρg= gas density, lb/ft3

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 4. Specific Gravity, sg (
• Gas specific gravity is the ratio of the gas
density to that of the air
– Air is a mixture of gases, approximately 79%
nitrogen and 21% oxygen

• Tsc and psc are used in defining the gas specific

gravity.

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 Calculating sg

𝛾𝑔

Ma = 28.96 * 𝛾𝑔

Where:

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 Example 6
A natural gas well is producing gas with a specific
gravity of 0.65 at a rate of 1.1 MMscf/day.
The average reservoir pressure and temperature
are 1500 psi and 150°F.
Calculate:
a. Apparent molecular weight of the gas
b. Gas density at reservoir conditions
c. Specific volume at reservoir conditions

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 Solution
a.

p Ma
b. ρg =
RT

1 1 3
c. 𝑣= = =0.23 𝑓𝑡 / 𝑙𝑏
𝜌 𝑔 4.31
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Question 1. A gas well is producing a natural gas
with the above composition. Assuming an ideal
gas behavior, calculate:
a. Apparent molecular weight
b. Specific gravity
c. Gas density at 2000 psia and 150°F
d. Specific volume at 2000 psia and 150°F
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b. = 18.42 / 28.96 = 0.636

c.

d.

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