Natural Gas Processing from Midstream to Downstream
by Nimir O. Elbashir, Mahmoud M. El-Halwagi, Ioannis G. Economou, Kenneth R. Hall
10 Study for the Optimal Operation of Natural Gas Liquid Recovery and Natural Gas Production
Mozammel Mazumder and Qiang Xu
Dan F. Smith Department of Chemical Engineering, Lamar University, USA
Chapter Menu
- 10.1 Introduction
- 10.2 Methodology Framework
- 10.3 New Process Design for NGL Recovery
- 10.4 Thermodynamic Analysis for Propane Refrigeration System
- 10.5 Optimization for Natural Gas Liquefaction
- 10.6 Conclusion
- Acknowledgements
- Abbreviations
- Nomenclature
10.1 Introduction
The recent increase in the supply of natural gas is the result of improved recovery methods (fracking) and has been a tectonic development in the energy sector. Natural gas prices have dropped significantly to less than 30% of their previous highs. As reported, cheap natural gas has greatly improved the cost and profitability of the U.S. chemical and petrochemical industry (Luyben et al. 2013). In the meantime, as the once largest energy‐consuming country in the world, the United States has been becoming energy independent and may possibly become an important energy resource (especially natural gas) exporter. It is no doubt that natural gas will become a major clean energy resource worldwide in the coming decades. Along with this trend, the technology development for natural‐gas processing becomes an increasingly important area in chemical and petrochemical engineering.
The composition of natural gas includes methane, heavier hydrocarbons (e.g., ethane, propane, and butane) ...