Natural Gas Processing from Midstream to Downstream
by Nimir O. Elbashir, Mahmoud M. El-Halwagi, Ioannis G. Economou, Kenneth R. Hall
7 Use of Process Simulators Upstream Through Midstream
Justin C. Slagle
Bryan Research & Engineering, Inc. Texas, USA
Chapter Menu
7.1 Introduction
7.1.1 The Origin of Hydrocarbon Process Simulation
The oil and gas industry, born from the demand for energy to fuel continued growth after the Industrial Revolution, has enjoyed immense innovation in the Information Age. In 1846, the lamp oil industry and the demand for heavier lubricating oils led James Young to drill the first oil well in what is now Azerbaijan. Using distillation experimentation, Young was able to create both lamp oil and lubricating oil from the same fluid. Further innovation led to kerosene products followed by gasoline and diesel products after invention of the automobile.
Around the same time, the desire to optimize the efficiency of steam engines created breakthroughs in the area of thermodynamics. These advances migrated to chemical processes and provided mathematical expressions for analyses.
Early refineries emphasized kerosene products, with the remaining hydrocarbons largely considered as waste. After demand for gasoline and diesel products increased dramatically, thermodynamic principles allowed engineers to maximize production of the more valuable products. Gasoline, kerosene, and diesel, being the “middle cuts” of the petroleum, left gas and liquid heavier ends as waste products. Modern refineries now use the lighter ...