ALTERNATIVE GAS PROCESSING INC

 

 

It is not unusual to discover natural gas deposits containing substantial levels of nitrogen. More often than not, these discoveries are not developed because the nitrogen levels exceed the four percent inert requirement for pipeline gas. A Nitrogen Rejection System may provide an economically practical approach to the development of these resources.

 Nitrogen rejection can be accomplished in several ways. Three of the most commonly used methodologies include:

·  Cryogenic Systems

Cryogenic processes capitalize on the fact that methane and nitrogen change phase (from gas to liquid) at different temperatures. By manipulating and controlling the pressures and temperatures in the system, the methane is liquefied’ and collected as it drops out of the gas.

· Solvent Recovery Processes

 In solvent recovery processes, the hydrocarbons in the feed stream are absorbed by a chemical solvent and the nitrogen that remains is dispersed by vent. The hydrocarbons are recovered from the solvent through a series of flash operations. . While other processes require an additional plant to remove the natural gas liquids, the solvent process conveniently handles both the separation of the nitrogen and the NGL's in a single plant. Of course, the recovered liquids can also be sold, enhancing the overall revenue stream of a project.

· Pressure Swing Adsorption

The pressure swing adsorption process utilizes a carbon bed technology to separate the nitrogen from the hydrocarbons and can perform effectively even where there are large amounts of nitrogen in the feed stream. A particular advantage of the pressure swing adsorption process is its scalability. It can be used in small plants designed to handle 100,000 cubic feet of gas per day as well as plants processing volumes in the millions of cubic feet.