Natural Gas Dehydration and Sweetening
Natural Gas Dehydration and Sweetening
INTRODUCTION
This course will give the participant a basic knowledge of unit operations in the gas processing, crude oil refining, bitumen recovery and petrochemical industries. Topics include natural gas sweetening, dehydration, natural gas liquids (NGL) recovery, fractionation, and sulphur production. Crude oil properties and refinery processes will be reviewed. Petrochemical processes such as the production of ammonia, methanol, ethylene, polyethylene, MTBE, etc. will be covered. Also bitumen extraction, via mining and in situ methods, from Alberta’s oil sands is investigated. A unit operations laboratory will be done to assist the student in the learning of classroom theory.
COURSE OUTLINE
DAY 1
Explain unit operations for natural gas processing
- Describe and discuss the simple chemistry of components in natural gas and distinguish between sweet and sour gas, wet and dry gas.
- Discuss and sketch the purpose and operating principles of raw inlet natural gas processing (separation).
- Discuss and sketch the unit operation of condensate stabilization.
- Explain and sketch the unit operations involved with the removal of acid gases from natural gas.
- Explain and sketch the unit operations involved with the removal of water from natural gas.
- Explain the unit operations involved with the removal of sulphur from acid gases produced from a sweetening unit.
- Discuss and sketch the unit operations involved in the removal of natural gas liquids from natural gas and the subsequent fractionation of these liquids into various products.
DAY 2
Explain petrochemical processes that use natural gas or crude oil product as a feedstock.
- Explain the process chemistry, draw process diagrams, and understand simple unit operations for steam reforming based processes (ammonia and methanol production).
- Explain the process chemistry, draw process diagrams, and understand simple unit operations for olefinic processes (ethylene, ethylene oxide/ethylene glycol (EO/EG), styrene, vinyl chloride monomer (VCM) production).
- Explain the process chemistry, draw process diagrams, and understand simple unit operations for polymerization processes (polyethylene and polystyrene production).
- Explain the process chemistry, draw process diagrams, and understand simple unit operations for miscellaneous processes (methyl tertiary butyl ether (MTBE)), and mono ethanol amine (MEA).
DAY 3
Explain refinery operations involving crude oil products.
- List the major properties tested for in crude oil and oil refinery products.
- Calculate a simple mass balance using atmospheric distillation laboratory data and crude oil properties.
- Describe and sketch the unit operations involved with desalting and distillation.
- Describe and sketch the unit operations involved with thermal processes (catalytic cracking, and coking).
- Describe and sketch unit operations involved with hydrogen processing (hydro-cracking and hydro-treating).
- Describe and sketch unit operations involved with alkylation and polymerization.
- Describe and sketch the unit operations involved with reforming and isomerization .
- Describe and sketch the unit operations involved with lube oil processing.
DAY 4
Describe and explain processes and technologies used to recover bitumen from Alberta’s oil sands.
- Define the physical properties of crude oil and describe ways in which crude oils are characterized.
- Describe the physical properties of Alberta’s oil sands and bitumen
- Compare and contrast the physical properties of bitumen with the physical properties of conventional oil.
- Explain the processes involved in extracting bitumen from mined oil sands
- Describe the processes used for in situ recovery of bitumen.
- Explain how the physical properties of bitumen influence in situ thermal recovery techniques.
- Examine the phases of SAGD well production
- Perform calculations to quantify SAGD well performance.
DAY 5
Operate pilot scale or simulation level unit operations as part of a student team and generate a written team report for each unit laboratory assigned to the team.
- Operate including startup, run at steady state and shutdown, a MEA absorber/stripper unit utilizing a Fisher Rsemount Delta V DCS system.
- Operate including startup, run at steady state and shutdown, a methanol/water distillation unit utilizing a Fisher Rosemount Delta V DCS.
- Operate including startup, run at steady state and shutdown, a closed loop pipeline/pump operation unit utilizing a Honeywell TDC 3000 DCS.
- Operate including startup, run at steady state and shutdown, a hexane/heptane fractionators simulation utilizing a Honeywell TDC 2000. DCS emulation.
- Operate including startup, run at steady state and shutdown, steam heat exchanger system utilizing a Honeywell Experion control system.
- Operate including startup, run at steady state and shutdown, a centrifugal compressor system utilizing a Honeywell TDC 2000 DCS emulation.