Chemistry and Technology of Fuels and Oils, Vol.51, No.5, 536-538, 2015
Optimal NGL Recovery From Natural Gas Using Turboexpander: a Case Study and Simulation
Associated gas from oil wells is the most common raw natural gas in Middle East countries and comprises about 70% of Iraq's natural gas resources. Associated gas is usually loaded with considerable amounts of C2+ hydrocarbons. Liquids from these hydrocarbons, commonly referred to as NGLs, include ethane, propane, butanes, and natural gasoline. They can be used as fuel or as feedstock in refineries and petrochemical plants, while the heavier portion can be used as gasoline-blending stock. They must be removed and recovered from the raw natural gas stream in order to produce pipeline-quality dry natural gas and to meet safe delivery and combustion specifications. This being the case, this study was aimed at simulating and maximizing NGL recovery by applying the latest V.8 Aspen HYSYS simulator and examining the demethanizer feed pressure.
Keywords:natural gas liquids;process optimization;NGL recovery;process optimization;Aspen HYSYS;turboexpander;demethanizer