Natural Gas Liquids Removal and Recovery

 

 

Natural gas liquids recovery refers to the process of removing and gathering propane, butane and other heavier hydrocarbon products from natural gas. The process is often used to reduce a gas stream's BTU value to meet pipeline tariff requirements while removing excess liquids that may condense and cause problems in transmission. The liquids are recovered as a y-grade mix that is accumulated in a tank on site and later trucked to a refinery for fractionation into its saleable hydrocarbon components. The end result is a gas stream that meets pipeline quality standards with the benefit of a by-product which provides additional revenue for the producer.

 AGPI can provide NGL recovery plants to process gas volumes ranging from 100,000 to five or ten million cubic feet per day. An amine unit can be added to the plant for removing carbon dioxide. If gas analysis indicates high concentrations of nitrogen, an NGL recovery plant can easily be integrated into a nitrogen rejection system.

 WINSIM modeling is used to determine the requirements for natural gas liquids recovery to meet pipeline hydrocarbon dew point specifications. We can utilize lower pressure amine systems for removal of carbon dioxide and other contaminants. By combining dehydration with the natural gas liquids system we can provide an integral unit to operate at lower pressures, and complement Pressure Swing Adsorption Systems.

With the computer modeling system, we can calculate the volume of liquids (in gallons) that will be available for sale as well as determine the hydrocarbon dew point requirements ahead of time in order to best plan the liquids recovery system.