Natural Gas Treatment and

Processing Technology

College of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering

Airong，Li
E-mail： [email protected]
 Chapter 1 Introduction

◼ Classification of Natural Gas

◼ Gas Resources and Their Utilization

◼ Composition and Content of Natural Gas

◼ Treatment and Processing

◼ Quality of commercial natural gas

◼ Course Contents and References

 Section 1 Natural Gas
Resources and Their Utilization

◼ Natural Gas Resources

◼ Natural Gas Utilization

◼ The Position of Natural Gas in Energy Consumption

 I. Natural Gas Resources

1. World Gas Resources (conventional gas reserves)

The world's natural gas resources are richer than oil resources. Data
provided by the International Federation of Natural Gas Industries show that
the world's proven natural gas reserves are 152 trillion cubic meters, which
can be exploited for 65 years at the current consumption level, while the
proven oil can be exploited only for 43 years. Among these contries, Russia
has the largest natural gas reserves in the world, accounting for nearly 35%
of the world's natural gas reserves, followed by Iran, Qatar, United Arab
Emirates and Saudi Arabia.
 I. Natural Gas Resources

Natural gas hydrate (commonly known as“combustible ice”) is a

non-stoichiometric crystalline compound of natural gas and water,
which is mainly stored at the bottom of the ocean and is another
existing form of natural gas. Experts estimate that hydrate reserves
are twice as large as conventional energy reserves and can be used
f o r n e a r l y 1 0 0 y e a r s . N a t u r a l g a s h y d r a t e belongs to
nonconventional gas reserves. Another potential nonconventional
gas resources is the coal bed methane.
Natural gas hydrate (commonly known as“combustible ice”)
 I. Natural Gas Resources

2. Natural gas resources in China

The prospective natural gas resources amount to 56 trillion cubic meters in
China, 59% of which are distributed in the regions of Sichuan, Chongqing,
Shanxi, Gansu, Ningxia, Qinghai and Xinjiang in the central and western regions.
The natural gas resources in these regions are about 22.4 trillion cubic
meters. In addition to these regions on land, natural gas resources are also very
rich in offshore. Hainan, Bohai Sea and East China Sea are all natural gas-rich
areas. There had accumulated 22 trillion cubic meters of proven recoverable
natural gas resources in China.
 I. Natural Gas Resources

According to the latest news, LW3-1-1 well implemented in the Pearl River
Mouth Basin in the South China Sea has obtained a major natural gas discovery.
It is preliminarily estimated that the natural gas resources exceed 100 billion cubic
meters, which is expected to become the largest natural gas discovery in China's
sea area.
There are also abundant hydrate reservoirs in China. According to expert
analysis, huge hydrates may exist in the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau Basin, the
continental slopes of the East China Sea, the South China Sea and the Yellow Sea
and their deep sea. It is reported that the South China Sea is rich in hydrate, about
7×1010 m3, and its total energy is about half of the oil reserves.
 Ⅱ. Utilization of Natural Gas

Natural gas is a clean energy and high-quality chemical raw material. Compared
with petroleum, it has obvious advantages in cleanliness, economy, convenience and
wide application. The utilization of natural gas mainly focuses on power generation,
industrial fuel, chemical raw materials, urban residents and commercial gas.
 Ⅱ. Utilization of Natural Gas

Natural gas power generation Natural gas power generation can not only
reduce pollution, but also start up the gas unit quickly, which can not only
carry the basic load, but also be used for peak shaving of the power grid,
which can effectively improve the peak shaving capacity of the power grid and
improve the operation quality of the power grid.
Clean civil fuel natural gas, as a living fuel for urban residents, can
greatly reduce urban pollution and improve urban environment. The heating in
big cities in China is gradually completing the transformation process of
replacing coal-fired boilers with natural gas boilers, and the use of domestic
gas boilers in newly-built residential quarters is also developing rapidly.
Natural gas will become the main living fuel for urban residents.
 Ⅱ. Utilization of Natural Gas

China officially started the"West-to-East Gas Transmission" project

on July 4, 2002. It starts from the Tarim Basin in Xinjiang in the west and
transports natural gas to Shanghai and Zhejiang via Gansu, Ningxia,
Shanxi, Henan, Anhui and Jiangsu to supply civil and industrial gas to the
provinces along the line. The completion of this project will not only
alleviate the energy shortage in the economically developed areas in the
east, but also greatly improve the air quality in this area. It is also reported
that the second line of West-East Gas Pipeline started construction on
February 22, 2008.
 Ⅱ. Utilization of Natural Gas

As a chemical raw material, natural gas, as a chemical raw material, has

gradually formed characteristic methane chemistry and chemical industry.
The output of synthetic ammonia and methanol produced from methane gas
accounts for 85% and 90% of the total output of the two products
respectively, which constitutes the core of natural gas utilization. New
technologies such as oxidative coupling of methane to ethylene and
conversion of natural gas to liquid fuel have also opened up new ways for
the effective utilization of natural gas. Ethylene produced from natural gas
condensate (NGL) accounts for 40% of the global total output.
 Ⅱ. Utilization of Natural Gas

Natural gas is used as engine fuel. Natural gas is an ideal substitute for
motor gasoline. The research octane number of natural gas is as high as
over 100, and it can effectively reduce the environmental pollution caused
by automobile exhaust, while the cost is only 2/3 —1/2 of that of gasoline.
Therefore, the number of engines using natural gas in the world is
increasing. As of 1996, the total number of vehicles using natural gas as
fuel in the world exceeded 1 million. In recent years, the development of
natural gas for automobiles in China is also very rapid.
 Ⅲ. Position of Natural Gas
According to statistics in the past 20 years, the world's natural gas consumption
is increasing at an average annual rate of 2-3%; In today's world energy consumption
structure, it has reached 24%, becoming one of the three main forces. At present, the
world is in a transitional period when natural gas replaces oil and becomes the
world's main energy source. The international energy community generally believes
that in the future, the world's natural gas output and consumption will grow at a
higher speed. After 2020, the world's natural gas output will surpass coal and oil and
become the world's most important energy source. The 21st century will be the
century of natural gas. Its development trend is shown in the figure below.
 Section 2 Composition and
Classification of Natural Gas

1. Composition of natural gas

Natural gas is a mixture of hydrocarbons mainly composed of

methane, and most of these compounds are alkanes. Its composition is as
follows:

CH4 C2H6 C3H8 C4H10 C5 + N2 CO2 H20 H2S He Ar Xer

(70-95%) C2 + (5-30%) Small amount Trace amount
 Section 2 Composition and
Classification of Natural Gas
❖The components of C6 + also include: (1) Cycloalkanes (methylcyclopentane,

cyclohexane, etc.) (2) Aromatic hydrocarbons (benzene, toluene, xylene, etc.)

❖The composition of natural gas is not fixed. Not only is the composition of
natural gas produced in oil and gas reservoirs in different regions very different,
but also the composition of natural gas in different production wells in the same oil
and gas reservoir will be different.
❖A few natural gases in the world contain a large number of non-hydrocarbon

components, and even the main components are non-hydrocarbon gases. For
example, a carbon dioxide well with a content of 99% was discovered in Shengli
Oilfield; Nitrogen wells with a content of 97; 4% were discovered in the United
States; High concentration hydrogen sulfide gas wells have also been found in
 Section 2 Composition and
Classification of Natural Gas
(1) According to the source of natural gas, it can be divided into:
 Gas field gas (gas reservoir gas; gas reservoir gas) exists in uniform gas phase in
underground reservoir, and natural gas still in gas phase on the surface is
recovered. The main components extracted from gas fields are methane and
ethane.
 Associated gas coexists with crude oil in underground reservoirs, or dissolves in
crude oil in the form of dissolved gas, or exists free in oil-bearing reservoirs in
the form of free gas. Symbiotic with oil, methane content is generally 70—80%.
(2) Accord to that methane content, it can be divided into:
 Dry gas (lean gas) generally has a methane content of more than 90% and a
light hydrocarbon content of less.
 Moisture (rich gas) generally has methane content below 90% and light
hydrocarbon content is relatively high.
 Section 3 Natural Gas
Treatment and Processing
I. Purpose of Natural Gas Processing

(1) Gas supply for gas pipeline network: The main contents include: ①
Removing hydrogen sulfide and carbon dioxide from natural gas to solve the
problems of air pollution and calorific value; ② Removing heavy hydrocarbons
and water to solve the condensation problem of heavy hydrocarbons and water in
the input process.

(2) Natural gas liquefaction: mainly solves the problem of long-distance

transportation of natural gas, especially cross-sea transportation. Because the
volume of liquefied (normal pressure,-162 ℃) natural gas is 1/625 of that of its
gas (20 ℃, 101.325 Kp), it is beneficial to transportation and storage.
 Section 3 Natural Gas
Treatment and Processing

(3) Supply of petrochemical raw materials: ①Supply of relatively pure raw

material methane as raw material for hydrogen production, urea production and
methanol production; ②Recovering light hydrocarbons as raw materials for the
production of chemicals such as cracking, dehydrogenation, isomerization,
aromatization and oxidation.

(4) Provide liquefied petroleum gas and natural gas condensate oil: liquefied
petroleum gas provides fuel for cities, and condensate oil is physically processed
to produce series of solvent oil.
 Section 3 Natural Gas
Treatment and Processing
Ⅱ.The main products of natural gas processing
 Section 3 Natural Gas
Treatment and Processing
Ⅲ. Natural gas treatment and processing
 Section 4 Commercial Natural Gas
The quality requirements of commercial natural gas are formulated according to
the comprehensive consideration of its economic benefits, safety and health and
environmental protection. Its main quality indicators are as follows.

1. Calorific value (calorific value) is one of the important indexes of natural gas
quality. It is a quality index that users must consider when correctly selecting
combustion equipment or appliances. Expressed in H in KJ/m3

Low calorific value

Calorific value
High calorific value
Different countries have different habits, some take high calorific value, some
take low calorific value, and China takes high calorific value.
 Section 4 Commercial Natural Gas
Table 1-2 Low calorific value of various fuels
Natural gas Artificial gas

Gas Carbonizati Pressure

Associated Coke oven
QI storing on furnace gasification
gas gas
gas gas
Calorific value,
31.6～36.0 31.6～43.9 14.7～18.3 16.2～16.4 15.3～15.5
MJ/Nm3

As can be seen from Table 1-2, the calorific value of different kinds of fuel
gases varies greatly. The calorific value of natural gas is about twice that of
artificial gas.

The calorific value of gas is an important index that must be considered

when users correctly select combustion equipment and/or appliances
 Section 4 Commercial Natural Gas

2. Wobb Index-A Judgment Index of Gas Interchangeability. As long as the

Huabai index of the two gases is the same, the two gases have interchangeability

on the same gas appliance. It is defined as:

H Gas calorific value

W =
d Relative density of gas
Huabai index, or heat load index
 Section 4 Quality Indicators of
Commercial Natural Gas
3. Hydrocarbon dew point the temperature at which hydrocarbons in natural
gas begin to condense under a certain pressure. In order to prevent liquid
hydrocarbons from precipitating during pipeline transportation of natural gas,
the dew point of hydrocarbons should be lower than the lowest temperature of
local environment.

4. Water dew point (also called dew point) The temperature at which water
in natural gas begins to condense under a certain pressure. In order to prevent
water from separating out during pipeline transportation or processing of natural
gas, the dew point of water should be lower than the minimum ambient
temperature.
 Section 4 Commercial Natural Gas
5. Sulfur Content the amount of sulfide contained in natural gas per unit
volume, usually expressed by hydrogen sulfide content and total sulfur content, in
mg/m3.

In addition to hydrogen sulfide, natural gas also contains organic sulfides

such as carbon disulfide (CS2), carbonyl sulfide (COS), mercaptan (CH3SH,
C2H5SH), thiophene (C4H4S), and thioether (CH3SCH3), but mainly contains
hydrogen sulfide, and organic sulfur belongs to the trace range.

6. The volume percentage of carbon dioxide in natural gas. Because carbon

dioxide is non-combustible and corrosive in the presence of water, some countries
stipulate that the content of carbon dioxide in natural gas should not be higher
than 2 ~ 3%.
 Section 4 Commercial Natural Gas
Table 1-3 Natural Gas Quality Indexes in China
Quality index
Project
Ⅰ Ⅱ Ⅲ

High calorific value Group Kcal/m3

MJ/Nm3
Group B Kcal/m3
Total sulfur content (calculated as
≤ 100 ≤ 200 ≤ 460
sulfur), mg/m3
Hydrogen sulfide content, mg/m3 ≤6 ≤ 20 ≤ 460

Carbon dioxide content,% (bulk) ≤3 －

Under the pressure and temperature conditions of natural
gas junction point, the water dew point of natural gas
Water dew point, °C,
should be 5 ℃ lower than the minimum ambient
temperature
 Section 5 Contents and References

1. The contents of this course:

This course is divided into nine chapters, including:
Chapter 1 Introduction
Chapter II Phase Characteristics of Natural Gas
Chapter III Methods for Preventing the Formation of Natural Gas Hydrate
Chapter IV Dehydration by Natural Gas Absorption
Chapter V Dehydration by Natural Gas Adsorption
Chapter VI Purification of Sour Natural Gas
Chapter VII Recovery of Natural Gas Condensate
Chapter VIII Liquefied Natural Gas and Compressed Natural Gas
Chapter IX Crude Oil Stability
 Section 5 Course Contents
and Reference Textbooks

2. References

“Fundamentals of Natural Gas Processing” by Taylor and Francis Group. LLC

"Natural Gas Pretreatment and Processing" Edited [America] J.M. Campbell