Optimization of operational condition of a condensate stabilization plant and investigation of effective parameters on Reid vapor pressure (RVP)

A. Esamaeili Young Researchers Club, Islamic Azad University, Tehran- outh !ranch, "o.#$%, e&ahbod gharani st., 'arim(han ave., Tehran, Iran, ).* !o+, #-./$/%%##, Tel. 01.2#22/.#134, e-mail, Arash.esmaeili23#35gmail.com "atural gas condensate is a lo6-density mi+ture o7 hydrocarbon li8uids that are &resent as gaseous com&onents in the ra6 natural gas &roduced 7rom many natural gas 7ields. It condenses out o7 the ra6 gas i7 the tem&erature is reduced to belo6 the hydrocarbon de6 &oint tem&erature o7 the ra6 gas in o&erating &ressure. The natural gas condensate is also re7erred to as sim&ly condensate, or gas condensate, or sometimes natural gasoline because it contains hydrocarbons 6ithin the gasoline boiling range. Aim o7 this &a&er is to investigate a condensate stabilization &lant 6hich has located in )hases 4,$9. :as re7inery ;Assaluyeh, IRA"< 6ith actual li8uid 7lo6 rate o7 4-433 !) = and obtained best actual condition to o&erate it. *n the basis o7 s&eci7ied targets 7or stabilized condensate in this &lant, t6o &ro&erties o7 &roduct should be ad>usted to store in storage tan(s and e+&ort, 7irst Reid va&or &ressure ;R?)< 6hich is #3 )sia @a+. ;7or summer case< and #2 )sia @a+. ;7or 6inter case< according to A T@ =%2% A#B that column &ressure and re-boiler tem&erature are t6o (ey 7actors in itCs ad>ustment , second amount o7 e+istence 6ater that should be -33 &&m6 in ma+imum case according to A T@ E23% A2B. The &ur&ose o7 this &lant is se&aration o7 a8ueous &hase and gaseous hydrocarbon 7rom hydrocarbon condensate and then to stabilize it 7or e+&ort. The o77-gas ;light hydrocarbons &lus acid gases< and a8ueous &hase ;@E:< are sent to 7urther &rocessing in the a&&ro&riate units. This unit receives most amount o7 condensate 7rom gas rece&tion 7acilities ; lug catcher< and also D) se&arators in do6nstream o7 letdo6n station valves and rest o7 it 7rom bottom o7 de-butanizer column ;C-0<. tabilizer column underta(es main res&onsibility 7or stabilizing o7 condensate so that this distillation column has 24 trays 6ith t6o 7eeds, a 7ull re7lu+ condenser and a re-boiler, condensate 7rom rece&tion 7acilities enters to 23th tray and entrance 7luid 7rom de-butanizer column 7lo6s to .th tray. *ur simulation by using DY Y ;ver.2334< based on )eng-Robinson e8uation o7 state A%B indicates most suitable o&erating &ressure 7or stabilizer and o&timum tem&erature 7or re-boiler to achieve s&eci7ied values are ..3 barg and #4%C res&ectively, in this o&timum case neither R?) is very lo6 to lose more lighter hydrocarbons and nor 6ater content is very high. Ratio bet6een )ara77ins, "a&htenes and Aromatics in stabilized &roduct is as ),",A E $#.., 2#.., 4./. Conse8uently, in this condition, mole 7raction o7 com&onents o7 lighter that n-)entane is increasing in to& o7 column though R?) (ee&s belo6 1.3 )sia. Table#.)ro&erties o7 stabilized condensate based on o&timum &arameters and A T@ standard )ro&erty Reid va&or &ressure Fater Content )our &oint Unit )sia &&m6 C A T@ test method =%2% E23% =1$ imulated value ..$nil -#31.. 413.$

=ensity5 storing ),T 'gGm%

Higure#. ?ariation o7 com&onents mole 7raction o7 lighter than n-)entane along the tabilizer

Higure2. !oiling &oint curves o7 condensate in inlet and outlet to &lant ;Ie7t to Right< based on A T@ standards

Higure%. )rocess o7 simulated condensate stabilization &lant in a outh )ars :as Re7inery

References: A#B A T@ =%2%-3., tandard Test @ethod 7or ?a&or )ressure o7 )etroleum )roducts ;Reid @ethod<. A2B A T@ E23% J 3., tandard Test @ethod 7or Fater Using ?olumetric 'arl Hischer Titration. A%B )eng, =.Y., Robinson, =.!., K A ne6 t6o-constant e8uation o7 stateK. Ind.Eng.Chem. Hundam #-, -1-4/, #1$4. A/B A T@ =1$ J 31, tandard Test @ethod 7or )our )oint o7 )etroleum )roducts.