Unit 1 Petrochemistry

Reading 1

The petrochemical industry is not commonly associated with terms like renewable energy and sustainability. Nevertheless it is fair to assume that the products of this industry will stay a commodity of our society for quite a long time. So even though the vision is that the use of non-renewable resources in time will be restricted, there is much reason to address issues like process optimisation, energy savings and reduced environmental impact of the petrochemical industry. The petrochemical industry is mainly based on three types of intermediates, which are derived from the primary raw materials. These are the C2-C4 olefins, the C6-C8 aromatic hydrocarbons, and synthesis gas (an H2/CO2 mixture). In general, crude oils and natural gases are composed of a mixture of relatively unreactive hydrocarbons with variable amounts of nonhydrocarbon compounds. This mixture is essentially free from olefins. However, the C2 and heavier hydrocarbons from these two sources (natural gas and crude oil) can be converted to light olefins suitable as starting materials for petrochemicals production. The C6-C8 aromatic hydrocarbonsthough present in crude oilare generally so low in concentration that it is not technically or economically feasible to separate them. However, an aromatic-rich mixture can be obtained from catalytic reforming and cracking processes, which can be further extracted to obtain the required aromatics for petrochemical use. Liquefied petroleum gases (C3-C4) from natural gas and refinery gas streams can also be catalytically converted into a liquid hydrocarbon mixture rich in C6-C8 aromatics. Synthesis gas, the third important intermediate for petrochemicals, is generated by steam reforming of either natural gas or crude oil fractions. Synthesis gas is the precursor of two big-volume chemicals, ammonia and methanol.
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Definitions API gravity: An arbitrary scale expressing the density of petroleum products. Flash point: Lowest temperature at which a petroleum product will give off sufficient vapor so that the vapor-air mixture above the surface of the liquid will propagate a flamme away from the source of ignition. Boiling range: The range of temperature (usually at atmospheric pressure) at which the boiling (or distillation) of a hydrocarbon liquid commences, proceeds, and finishes. OPEC: Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries ASEAN: Association of South East Asian Nations Barrel = 159 liters Gallon = 3,78 liters (USA) = 4,54 liters (UK) GAMMAR FORCUS 1. Reported speech said that form: S + said to told + Obj + that + S + V + O (changed)

2. Relative clauses (adjective clause) Reading 2: REFINERY OPERATIONS

The function of the refinery is to convert crude oil into the finished products required by the market in the most efficient and hence most profitable manner.

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The methods employed necessarily vary widely from one refinery to another, depending on the crude processed, the nature and location of the market, the type of equipment available, and many other factors. However, for simplification, it may be considered that all refining processes fall into one of four basic categories. The first category is fractionation or distillation. This method of physically separating a mixture of compounds was the earliest process used in petroleum refining, and today is still one of the most important. However, since it is not generally possible to separate the complex petroleum mixtures into individual compounds, such mixtures are segregated into fractions or "cuts", each of which is characterized by a carefully controlled boiling range. These cuts are then further processed or utilized in the refinery operations. The second basic type of process, essentially chemical in nature, consists of converting or chemically transforming certain of these "cuts" into products of higher commercial value. There are many ways of doing this, but all consist fundamentally of altering the molecular structure of the components. In the case of a heavy oil, the molecules may be cracked to form lighter, more valuable products, as for instance in catalytic cracking and coking. On the other hand, gaseous products may be polymerized or otherwise combined to form liquid products which may be blended into gasoline. With certain processes, e.g. catalytic reforming, both cracking and polymerization take place concurrently with the more desirable de-hydrogenation, hydrogenation, and isomerization reactions. The net result of all these transformations is the production of mixtures containing new arrays of hydrocarbons of higher value than the starting materials.

3 Nearly all the fractions produced by the processes mentioned above contain
certain objectionable constituents or impurities. The third basic category is, therefore, treating. This group of processes includes the removal of the unwanted components, or their conversion to innocuous or less undesirable compounds. Removal of the impurities is sometimes accomplished by physical treating, as exemplified by the process for manufacturing kerosene, wherein sulfur and certain undesirable hydrocarbons are removed by extraction with liquid sulfur dioxide. Alternatively, the removal may be carried out by converting the unwanted compounds to a form more readily removed as is done in the hydrodesulfurization of diesel fuel. Here the sulfur compounds are cracked and hydrogenated. The sulfur is converted to hydrogen sulfide which can be readily separated
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from the heavier diesel oil by fractionation. An example of the conversion of undesirable components to innocuous compounds which remain in the product is found in the gasoline sweetening processes. There the mercaptans present give the product a foul, objectionable odor. The sweetening process merely transforms the mercaptans to organic disulfides which are less objectionable. Although sulfur is perhaps the commonest and most troublesome of the impurities found in petroleum, it is certainly not the only one. Substances such as nickel, vanadium, and nitrogen may also be present in the crude oil. These impurities are undesirable because of the difficulty they cause during processing in the refinery or because of some detrimental effect during consumer use of the product. Furthermore, presence of certain hydrocarbons or certain types of hydrocarbons may lower the quality of a specific product. It was mentioned that aromatics are removed from kerosene by SO, extraction. The aromatics have undesirable burning characteristics and hence the product quality is improved if these "impurities" are removed. Lube oil treating process such as dewaxing, deasphalting, and phenol treating also fall into this category.

The fourth basic category is blending of the finished cuts into commercially

saleable products such as motor gasoline, kerosene, lubricating oils, and bunker fuel oil, according to their specifications. These four basic categories encompass the fundamental operation of a refinery. All other activities are carried out to implement them. The specifications for a given product are established to insure a satisfactory level of product performance. Specifications can be altered from time to time, but a product normally must meet the then existing product specifications. Various crudes on the other hand yield fractions with significantly different properties. At first glance, it might appear reasonable to select crudes to best match the product needs of each refinery. Many times, however, this is not economical as the money saved in eliminating various conversions and treating processes is offset by other factors. These might include crude availability, price, and transportation or specialty product requirements. A refinery is a sophisticated multi-component process operated in
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overall balance. The balance is set by economic considerations with the major variables being crude oil, process costs, and final products. It is thus easier to see why: No two refineries are exactly alike. Various conversion and purification processes are required. Crude selection is important.

QUESTIONS 1v 1. How many basic areas can the petroleum refining operations be seperated into? 2. What is the purpose of treating process? 3. Which workshops belong to decomposition process? 4. What is the overall balance in refinery? 5. How many categories of petroleum refining are classified into? 6. Why are no two refineries exactly alike? Main Ideas 1 Write main ideas of reading 2 3.1 Find the word in the text which is closest in meaning to: Fractionation fraction treating LPG refinery impurities sweetening process saleable products. 3.2 Gap-filling

Complete the passage with appropriate words below. Tail gas thermal cracking vacuum distillation visbreaking sulfurization stripping scrubbing reflux quench oil feedstock 1.. stock from which material is taken to be fed (charged) into a processing unit. 2. oil injected into a product leaving a cracking or reforming heater to lower the temperature and stop the cracking process.
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3..the portion of the distillate returned to the fractioning column to assist in attaining better separation into desired fraction. 4..purification of a gas or liquid by washing it in a tower. 5 the removal (by steam-induced vaporization or flash evaporation) of the more volatile components from a cut or fraction. 6 combining sulfur compounds with petroleum lubricants. 7. .viscosity breaking is a low temperature cracking process used to reduce the viscosity or pour point of straight-run residuum. 8the distillation of petroleum under vacuum which reduces the boiling temperature sufficiently to prevent cracking or decomposition of the feedstock 9. .the breaking up of heavy oil molecules into lighter fractions by the use of high temperature without the aid of catalysts 10..the lightest hydrocarbon gas released from a refining process. 3.3 Decide whether the following statements are true (T) or false (F). 1. The petrochemical Industry is a renewable energy and sustainability 2. The hydrodesulfurization of diesel fuel is the process that the sulfur compounds are cracked. 3. Synthesis gas is the mixture of hydrogen and carbon monoxide. 4. The sweetening process transforms the mercaptans to organic disulfides without objectionable. 5. An aromatic-rich mixture can be made from catalytic reforming and cracking processes. 6. Vietnam is in OPEC and ASEAN. 7. A refinery is set by economic considerations with the major variables being crude oil, process costs, and final products.

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Reading 3: Dzung Quat refinery

Dzung Quat Refinery Project Management Board has been established to build and operate a grass roots refinery and associated facilities at Dzung Quat, Quang Ngai, a central province of Vietnam. Dzung Quat Refinery Project Management Board belongs directly to Vietnam Oil and Gas Corporation (Petrovietnam) and was established by the PetroVietnam Directors Board's decision No 177/Q-HQT dated February 12th, 2003, by which Dzung Quat Refinery Project Management Board is authorized to deal with the organization, management and implementation of the Dzung Quat Refinery Project. The Project Site consists of four main areas: the refinery, the product tank farm, the marine loading facilities at the jetty and the SPM and seawater intake and outfall facilities. These areas are joined by interconnecting piping with an adjacent service road. The refinery is designed to operate on two feedstocks: o Million Tonnes per Annum of Bach Ho Crude (Sweet Case) o 5.5 Million Tonnes per Annum of Bach Ho and 1.0 Million tonnes per annum of Dubai crude (Sour Case) The refinery is designed to produce the following products; Domestic LPG Polymer Grade Propylene 90/92/95 RON Gasoline pool Burning Grade Kerosene Jet A1 Auto Diesel Fuel Oil.

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Fig 1. Process units of Dzung Quat refinery

ABBREVIATIONS: v Single Point Mooring (SPM) v Crude Distillation Unit (CDU) v Naphtha Hydrotreater (NHT) v Izomerization Unit (ISOMER) v Continuous Catalytic Reformer (CCR) v Kerosene Treating Unit (KTU) v Residue Fluidised Catalytic Cracker (RFCC) v RFCC Naphtha Treating Unit (NTU) v LCO Hydrotreating Unit (LCO-HDT) v LPG Treating Unit (LTU) v Light Gasoil (LGO) v Heavy Gasoil (HGO) v Propylene Recovery Unit (PRU)
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v Amine Regeneration Unit (ARU) v Sour Water Stripper (SWS) v Caustic Neutralisation Unit (CNU) v Sulphur Recovery Unit (SRU) The refinery (fig 1) will also have its own utility and power production systems. Crude feedstock will be unloaded via a single point mooring and stored in the crude tank farm. Some intermediate refinery tankage is provided within the refinery fence, however, finished products are stored in a separate product tank farm. Product loading facilities will be provided for both Ocean and Coastal ships. Truck loading will also be provided for supply local to the refinery.

Dzung Quat Refinery has been applying "State of the Art" technologies licensed by

UOP (USA), Merichem (USA) and IFP (France) in numerous processes in the Refinery. These advanced technologies are as follows: UOP Advanced technologies in Naphtha HydroTreating Unit - CCR Platforming Unit (NHT-CCR) to upgrade the straight run naphtha input produced in CDU to reformate for using as gasoline blending stock. In addition, the unit will produce a hydrogen rich net gas and LPG which will be sent to the LPG Treating Unit. The UOP integrated design will provide high reliability, excellent product yield and completed catalyst regenerability with minimum maintenance requirements. The Residue Fluidized Catalytic Cracking Unit (RFCC) uses R2R technology of IFP to convert residue produced in CDU to various valuable products, such as fuel gas, LPG, naphtha for gasoline blending, diesel blending components, and fuel oil. The process unit consists in feed injection system, riser, riser outlet separator system, disengager/stripper, first stage regenerator, second stage regenerator, catalyst cooler, catalyst withdrawal well, catalyst transfer lines and control systems. The R2R technology possesses many design features to achieve flexibility of operation on a wide range of feedstocks. It is intended to provide high yields of gasoline and distillate while minimizing the production of coke and gas. MERICHEM's FIBER-FILMTM Contactor technologies for Treating Processes in KTU, LTU, NTU and CNU units of the Refinery to reduce H2S and mercaptan level in LPG
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(LTU), naphtha (NTU) and kerosene (KTU) products and to neutralize, treat mixed effluent caustics so that the resulting brine can be sent to a waste water treatment facility and reconstitute, separate the naphthenic, phenolic, and other organic acids from the brine (CNU). The process offers numerous advantages such as high mass transfer efficiency, saving valuable plant space, and reducing capital expenditures applied to caustic, acid or water treating needs for a more profitable processing operation. Questions 2 1. How many units does Dzung Quat refinery have in fig.1? 2. How many major products are there? 3. What is the RFCC of IFP? 4. What are the difference between UOP and Merichem technlogies at Dzung Quat refinery? 3.4 Match a word or phrase in A with its definition in B A a. crude oil b. alkylation c. desalting d. hydrodesulfurization e. isomerization f. straigh run gasoline g. cracking h. catalytic cracking i. deasphalting j. OCTANE number B

1. Removal of mineral salts (most chlorides, e.g,

magnesium chloride and sodium chloride) from crude oil.

2. A naturally occurring hydrocarbon mixture,

generally in a liquid state, which may also include compounds of sulfur, nitrogen,

oxygen, metals, and other elements.

3. A catalytic process in which the principal

purpose is to remove sulfur from petroleum fractions in the presence of hydrogen.

4. Gasoline produced by the primary distillation

of crude oil. It contains no cracked, polymerized, alkylated, reformed or visbroken stock.

5. The breaking up of heavy molecular weight

hydrocarbons into lighter hydrocarcnon
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molecules by the application of heat and pressure, with or without the use of catalysts.

6. A process using sulfuric or fluoric acid as a

catalyst to combine olefins (usually butylene) and isobutane to produce a high-octane product known as alkylate

7. The

process

of

breaking

up into

heavier lighter

hydrocarbon hydrocarbon catalysts

molecules fraction by

use

heat

and

8. Process of removing asphaltic materials from

reduced crude using liquid propane to dissolve nonasphaltic compounds.

9. A reaction that catalytically converts straightchain hydrocarbon molecules into branched chain molecules of subtantially higher octane number. The reaction rearranges the carbon skeleton of a molecule without adding or removing anything from the original material.

10.

Any one of several numerical indicators

of resistance to knock obtained by comparison with reference fuels in standardized engine or vehicle tests.

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Unit 2 Gasification
1. Reading 1

Gas purification, as discussed in this text, involves the removal of vapor-phase impurities from gas streams. The processes which have been developed to accomplish gas purification vary from simple once-through wash operations to complex multiple-step recycle systems. In many cases, the process complexities arise from the need for recovery of the impurity or reuse of the material employed to remove it. The primary operation of gas purification processes generally falls into one of the following five categories: 1. Absorption into a liquid 2. Adsorption on a solid 3. Permeation through a membrane 4. Chemical conversion to another compound 5. Condensation Absorption refers to the transfer of a component of a gas phase to a liquid phase in which it is soluble. Stripping is exactly the reverse-the transfer of a component from a liquid phase in which it is dissolved to a gas phase. Absorption is undoubtedly the single most important operation of gas purification processes. Adsorption, as applied to gas purification, is the selective concentration of one or more components of a gas at the surface of a microporous solid. The mixture of adsorbed components is called the adsorbate, and the microporous solid is the admrbent. The attractive forces holding the adsorbate on the adsorbent are weaker than those of chemical bonds, and the adsorbate can generally be released (desorbed) by raising the temperature or reducing the partial pressure of the component in the gas phase in a manner analogous to the stripping of an absorbed component from solution. When an
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adsorbed component reacts chemically with the solid, the operation is called chemisorption and desorption is generally not possible. Membrane permeation is a relatively new technology in the field of gas purification. In this process, polymeric membranes separate gases by selective permeation of one or more gaseous components from one side of a membrane barrier to the other side. The components dissolve in the polymer at one surface and are transported across the membrane as the result of a concentration gradient. The concentration gradient is maintained by a high partial pressure of the key components in the gas on one side of the membrane barrier and a low partial pressure on the other side. Although membrane permeation is still a minor factor in the field of gas purification, it is rapidly finding new applications. Chemical conversion is the principal operation in a wide variety of processes, including catalytic and noncatalytic gas phase reactions and the reaction of gas phase components with solids. The reaction of gaseous species with liquids and with solid particles suspended in liquids is considered to be a special case of absorption and is discussed under that subject. Condensation as a means of gas purification is of interest primarily for the removal of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) from exhaust gases. The process consists of simply cooling the gas stream to a temperature at which the organic compound has a suitably low vapor pressure and collecting the condensate. 2. Definitions 1. Btu (British Thermal Unit): A unit of measurement for energy; the amount of heat that is necessary to raise the temperature of one pound of water by 1F. 2. s.t.p: standard temperature and pressure (273.15 K and 1.013 x 105 Pa) 3. scf: standard cubic feet of gas (60oF, 1 atm) 4. Mcf (thousand cubic feet): A unit of measure that is more commonly used in the low volume sectors of the gas industry, such as stripper well production. 5. MMscf: million standard cubic feet of gas
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6. Bcf (billion cubic feet): Gas measurement approximately equal to one trillion (1,000,000,000,000) Btus. 7. Quad: An abbreviation for a quadrillion (1,000,000,000,000,000) Btus; roughly equivalent to one trillion (1,000,000,000,000) cubic feet, or 1 Tcf. 8. Tcf (trillion cubic feet): Gas measurement approximately equal to one quadrillion (1,000, 000,000,000,000) Btus 9. 1 grain per 100 scf: 24.19 mg/m3 (s.t.p) 10. 1/4 grain H2S per 100 scf: 4 ppmv H2S 11. Volume of 1 Ib mol of ideal gas at 60F and 1 atm: 379.5 scf 12. Volume of 1 kmol of ideal gas at s.t.p: 22.41 m3 13. Gas constant: R = 1.986 Btu/lb mo1oR = 8.314 J/mol K Questions 1 1. What is the gasification? 2. How are the difference between adsorption and absorption? 3. What do the main factors affect to adsorption and absorption process? 4. How many catalogues of gas purification processes are classified into? Gammar forcus 1. Active and passive 2. Condition tense 3. Reading 2. Compositions and Properties of Natural gas

Natural gas (marsh gas) is colorless, odorless, tasteless, shapeless, and often quoted as being lighter than air, but this statement is not quite true and is qualified in some special cases. It is gaseous at any temperature higher than -161C. When it is at its natural state, it is not possible to see or smell natural gas. For safety reasons, an odorant (a mercaptan, also called a thiol) is added to natural gas so that it can be smelled if there is a gas leak. A mercaptan is a chemical odorant that smells a little like rotten eggs.
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Although the composition and properties of natural gas are presented elsewhere in more detail, it is pertinent to give a brief overview here of the composition and properties of natural gas. The primary component of natural gas is methane (CH4), and it also contains gaseous hydrocarbons such as ethane (C2H6), propane (C3H8), and butane (C4H10) as well as other non-hydrocarbon gases. In fact, natural gas is the primary market source of the valuable rare gas helium (He), which is used in cryogenics, as a deep-sea breathing gas, for inflating balloons and airships, and as a protective gas for many industrial purposes, such as arc welding. Inhaling a small amount of helium temporarily changes the quality of a persons voice, but caution must be exercised because helium is an asphyxiant. Gas with a significant amount of sulfur impurities, such as hydrogen sulfide, is termed sour gas or acid gas, and must be cleaned before consumption. Processed natural gas available to end-users is tasteless and odorless, however, before gas is distributed to end-users, it is odorized by adding small amounts of thiols (sulfur-containing compounds having the general formula R-SH) to assist in leak detection. Natural gas can also be hazardous to life and property through an explosion and/or asphyxiation. For example, if natural gas leaks go undetected (hence the reason for adding odorants such as thiols), fireball- type explosions can result. In addition, natural gas, being an asphyxiant, can kill organisms (including humans) if it displaces air to the point where the oxygen content of the surrounding atmosphere is insufficient to support life.

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Natural gas is often stated to be lighter than air, but this is only partly true. In

comparison with air, the relative density of methane is lighter than the density of air and tends to dissipate into the atmosphere. The other hydrocarbon constituents of natural gas have a higher density than air and, therefore, do not dissipate into the atmosphere but will collect on the ground. Being colorless (invisible) and odorless, the hydrocarbons can pose a danger to life in the immediate vicinity either through asphyxiation or explosion. When natural gas (i.e., methane) is confined, such as within a house or any building, gas concentrations can reach explosive mixtures and, if ignited, result in

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destructive blasts. Methane has a lower explosive limit of 5% in air, and an upper explosive limit of 15%. By definition, the lower explosive limit of a gas or vapor at ordinary (ambient) temperature is the percent by volume of the gas vapor in air and is the lower limit at which the gas explodes or inflames. Conversely, the upper explosive limit of a gas or vapor at ordinary (ambient) temperature is the percent by volume of the gas vapor in air and is the upper limit at which the gas explodes or inflames. Similarly, the lower flammability limit is the minimum concentration by volume of a combustible substance that is capable of propagating a flame under specified conditions and the upper flammability limit is the maximum concentration by volume of a combustible substance that is capable of continued propagation of a flame under the specified conditions. However, these limits are to be used as a guide only, because under a variety of other circumstances, methane and the other hydrocarbon constituents of natural gas are explosive and flammable. Questions 2 1. What are the properties of natural gas? 2. What are the compositions of natural gas? 3. What is the purpose of adding mercaptan into natural gas? 4. How is the difference between the lower explosive limit and the lower flammability limit? 5. Where can we find the limit (explosive or flammability) of gas? 4.1 Find the word in the text which is closest in meaning to: Natural gas desorbed colorless mercaptan condensate ambient temperature sour gas the lower explosive limit quadrillion the lower flammability limit 4.2 Decide whether the following statements are true (T) or false (F). 1. Adsorption refers to the transfer of a component of a gas phase to a liquid phase in which it is soluble. 2. The attractive forces holding the adsorbate on the adsorbent are chemical bonds. 3. A mercaptan is a compound in rotten eggs.
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4. The primary component of natural gas is methane (CH4) and ethane (C2H6) 5. The lower flammability limit is similar to the lower explosive limit. 4.3 Gap-filling Complete the passage with appropriate words below. Acid gas Gas hydrate Global warming Sweet gas Clam process Ideal gas

Natural gas liquids (NGLs) Condensate

Town gas Cryogenic process

1. .Carbon dioxide and hydrogen sulfide 2. ..A sulfur recovery process recovering elemental sulfur from sour gas; a major producer of sulfur. 3. ..A hydrocarbon liquid stream separated from natural gas; higher molecular weight hydrocarbons that exist in the reservoir as constituents of natural gas but which are recovered as liquids in separators, field facilities or gasprocessing plants. 4. A process involving low temperatures is .. 5. .A molecule consisting of an ice lattice or cage in which low molecular weight hydrocarbon molecules, such as methane, are embedded. 6. An environmental issue that deals with the potential for global climate change due to increased levels of atmospheric greenhouse gases. 7. .A gas in which all collisions between atoms or molecules are perfectly elastic and in which there are no intermolecular attractive forces. 8. ..A hydrocarbon liquid stream gas condensate; higher molecular weight hydrocarbons that exist in the reservoir as constituents of natural gas but which are recovered as liquids in separators, field facilities or gasprocessing plants. 9. Natural gas that contains very little, if any, hydrogen sulfide call. . 10. A generic term referring to manufactured gas produced for sale to consumers and municipalities is..
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5. Reading 3 Gas processing

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Various types of processing plants have been used since the mid-1850s to extract liquids, such as natural gasoline, from produced crude oil. However, for many years, natural gas was not a desired fuel. Prior to the early 20th century, most of it was flared or simply vented into the atmosphere, primarily because the available pipeline technology permitted only very short-distance transmission. As the gas processing industry evolved, the natural gas received and transported by the major intrastate and interstate mainline transmission systems in the United States had to meet the quality standards specified by pipeline companies. These quality standards vary from pipeline to pipeline and are usually a function of a pipeline systems design, its downstream interconnecting pipelines, and its customer base. However, these standards generally specify that the natural gas must: 1. Be within a specific Btu content range (1,035 Btu/ft3, +/- 50 Btu) 2. Be delivered at a specified hydrocarbon dew-point temperature level (below which any vaporized gas liquid in the mix will tend to condense at pipeline pressure) 3. Contain no more than trace amounts of elements such as hydrogen sulfide, carbon dioxide, nitrogen, water vapor, and oxygen 4. Be free of particulate solids and liquid water that could be detrimental to the pipeline or its ancillary operating equipment Gas processing equipment, whether in the field or at processing/treatment plants, assures that these requirements can be met. While in most cases processing facilities extract contaminants and higher molecular weight hydrocarbons (natural gas liquids) from the gas stream. However, in some cases, the higher molecular weight hydrocarbons may be blended into the gas stream to bring it within acceptable Btu levels. Whatever the situation, there is the need to prepare the gas for transportation and use in domestic and commercial furnaces. Thus, natural gas processing begins at the wellhead and because the composition of the raw natural gas extracted from producing wells depends on the type, depth, and location of the underground deposit and the geology of the area,
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processing must offer several options (even though each option may be applied to a different degree) to accommodate the difference in composition of the extracted gas (fig 2).

Fig 2. General schematic of gas processing.

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In those few cases where pipeline-quality natural gas is actually produced at the wellhead or field facility, the natural gas is moved directly to the pipeline system. In other instances, especially in the production of non-associated natural gas, field or lease facilities referred to as skid-mount plants are installed nearby to dehydrate (remove water) and decontaminate (remove dirt and other extraneous materials) raw natural gas into acceptable pipeline-quality gas for direct delivery to the pipeline system. The skids are often specifically customized to process the type of natural gas produced in the area and are a relatively inexpensive alternative to transporting the natural gas to distant largescale plants for processing. Gas processing consists of separating all of the various hydrocarbons, nonhydrocarbons (such as carbon dioxide and hydrogen sulfide), and fluids from the methane. Major transportation pipelines usually impose restrictions on the make-up of the natural gas that is allowed into the pipeline. That means that before the natural gas can
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be transported it must be purified. While the ethane, propane, butanes, and pentanes must be removed from natural gas, this does not mean that they are all waste products. Gas processing (gas refining) is necessary to ensure that the natural gas intended for use is clean-burning and environmentally acceptable. Natural gas used by consumers is composed almost entirely of methane, but natural gas that emerges from the reservoir at the wellhead is by no means as pure. Although the processing of natural gas is in many respects less complicated than the processing and refining of crude oil, it is equally as necessary before its use by end users. Raw natural gas comes from three types of wells: oil wells, gas wells, and condensate wells. Associated gas, i.e., gas from petroleum wells, can exist separate from oil in the formation (free gas), or dissolved in the crude oil (dissolved gas). Nonassociated gas, i.e., gas from gas wells or condensate wells is free natural gas along with a semi-liquid hydrocarbon condensate. Whatever the source of the natural gas, once separated from crude oil (if present) it commonly exists in mixtures with other hydrocarbons; principally ethane, propane, butane, and pentanes. In addition, raw natural gas contains water vapor, hydrogen sulfide (H2S), carbon dioxide, helium, nitrogen, and other compounds. In fact, the associated hydrocarbons (natural gas liquids, NGLs) can be valuable byproducts of natural gas processing. Natural gas liquids include ethane, propane, butane, iso-butane, and natural gasoline, which are sold separately and have a variety of different uses; including enhancing oil recovery in oil wells, providing raw materials for oil refineries or petrochemical plants, and as sources of energy. 6. Gap-filling Complete the passage with appropriate words below. Fire point Gas cap Boiling point Dehydration Rich gas Dead crude oil Non-associated natural gas Fuel cell technology Abiogenic gas Density 1. The temperature to which gas must be heated under prescribed conditions of the method to burn continuously when the mixture of vapor and air is ignited by a specified flame: ..
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2. .is the mass of a substance contained in a unit volume (mass divided by volume). 3. Water removal from natural gas streams call.. 4.. The gas trapped between the liquid petroleum and the impervious cap rock of the petroleum reservoir. 5. Sometimes called gas well gas; produced from geological formations that typically do not contain much, if any, crude oil, or higher boiling hydrocarbons (gas liquids) than methane; can contain non-hydrocarbon gases such as carbon dioxide and hydrogen sulfide. 6. A gaseous stream is traditionally very rich in natural gas liquids (NGLs) 7. The chemical interaction of natural gas and certain other metals, such as platinum, gold, and other electrolytes to produce electricity. 8. .Crude oil in the reservoir with minimal or no dissolved associated gas; often difficult to produce as there is little energy to drive it. 9. ..The temperature at which the vapor pressure of the substance is equal to atmospheric pressure. 10. Gas formed by inorganic means:... 7. Match a word or phrase in A with its definition in B.

A a. Wet gas b. Fischer-Tropsch process c. Raw natural gas

B 1. The measure of a fluids thickness, or how well it flows. 2. Impure natural gas as delivered from the well and before processing (refining). 3. Gas that occurs in tight sandstones, siltstones,
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d. Viscosity e. Muds f. Unconventional gas g. Gas processing h. Tail-gas treating i. Brine j. Compression

sandy carbonates, limestone, dolomite, and chalk 4. Used in drilling to lubricate the drilling bit in rotary drilling rigs. 5. The preparation of gas for consumer use by removal of the non-methane constituents; synonymous with gas refining. 6. An aqueous solution of salts that occurs with gas and crude oil; seawater and saltwater. 7. Removal of the remaining sulfur compounds from gases remaining after sulfur recovery. 8. The catalytic process by which synthesis gas (syngas; mixtures of carbon monoxide and hydrogen) is converted to hydrocarbon products. 9. Reduction in volume of natural gas is compressed during transportation and storage 10. Natural gas that contains considerable amounts of higher molecular weight hydrocarbons other than methane.

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References

1. T in du kh Anh Vit, Tng cng ty du kh vit nam, Vin du kh, nh xut bn khoa hc v k thut, 1996 2. T in Ha hc Anh Vit, nh xut bn khoa hc v k thut, 1992 3. ASTM DICTIONARY OF ENGINEERING SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY, Printed in Mayfield, PA November 2005. 4. Arthul Kohl, Richard Nielsen, Gas purification, Gulf Publishing Company Houston, Texas, 1997. 5. James G. Speight, Natural Gas A Basic Handbook, Gulf Publishing Company Houston, Texas, 2007. 6. Industrial Organic Chemicals, Second Edition, by Harold A. Wittcoff, Bryan G. Reuben, and Jeffrey S. Plotkin, 2009

Ho Chi Minh University of Industry For internal purposes only

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