Non Renewable Energy

Technology
Natural Gas Technology
Natural gas
• Natural gas is a flammable fuel, naturally occurring
hydrocarbon gas mixture consisting primarily of methane,
but commonly including varying amounts of other higher
alkanes, and sometimes a small percentage of carbon
dioxide, nitrogen, hydrogen sulfide, or helium.
• It is formed when layers of decomposing plant and animal
matter are exposed to intense heat and pressure under the
surface of the Earth over millions of years. The energy that
the plants originally obtained from the sun is stored in the
form of chemical bonds in the gas
Natural Gas Technology
• Natural gas extracted from the well is mainly composed of Methane
but may also contain impurities such as hydrogen sulfide (H2S),
carbon dioxide (CO2), hydrocarbons and even water.
• H2S and CO2, commonly known as sour gases, have a corrosive effect
on gas pipelines and processing equipment, as well as being toxic to
humans.
• They can also freeze during the liquefaction process, forming solid
particles that will clog the pipes and process equipment. For the same
reason, water must also be removed.
• Unwanted substances extracted from natural gas provide valuable
components for other industries.
Typical LNG Process
1. Drilling and Transportation
• Natural gas is measured in normal cubic meters or standard cubic
feet.
• Natural gas is most commonly extracted by drilling vertically from the
Earth’s surface. From a single vertical drill, the well is limited to the
gas reserves it encounters.

Hydraulic fracturing, horizontal drilling, and acidizing are processes

to expand the amount of gas that a well can access, and thus increase
its productivity. However, these practices can have negative
environmental consequences.
 1.1 Hydraulic fracturing, or fracking

• Hydraulic fracturing is a process that splits open rock formations with

high-pressure streams of water, chemicals, and sand.
• The sand props open the rocks, which allows gas to escape and be stored
or transported. However, fracking requires huge quantities of water, which
can radically reduce an area’s water table and negatively impact aquatic
habitats.
• The process produces highly toxic and frequently radioactive wastewater
that, if mismanaged, can leak and contaminate underground water
sources used for drinking, hygiene, and industrial and agricultural use.
• In addition, fracking can cause micro-earthquakes. Most of these
temblors are far too tiny to be felt on the surface, but some geologists
and environmentalists warn that the quakes may cause structural
damage to buildings or underground networks of pipes and cables.

• Due to these negative environmental effects, fracking has been

criticized and banned in some areas. In other areas, fracking is a
lucrative economic opportunity and providing a reliable source of
energy.
1.2 Horizontal drilling
• Horizontal is a way of increasing the area of a well without creating
multiple expensive and environmentally sensitive drilling sites.
• After drilling straight down from the Earth’s surface, drilling can be
directed to go sideways horizontally. This broadens the well’s
productivity without requiring multiple drilling sites on the surface.
1.3 Acidizing
• Acidizing is a process of dissolving acidic components and inserting
them into the natural gas well, which dissolves rock that may be
blocking the flow of gas.

After natural gas is extracted, it is most frequently transported

through pipelines that can be from 2 to 60 inches in diameter.
2. Gas Compression and Pretreatment
2.1 Heat Exchangers
2.2 Scrubber

• The separated gas may contain mist and other liquid

droplets. Drops of water and hydrocarbons also form
when the gas is cools in the heat exchanger and must
be removed before it reaches the compressor. If liquid
droplets enter the compressor, they will erode the fast
rotating blades. A scrubber is designed to remove
small fractions of liquid from the gas.
2.3 Compressors
• Compressor are used in many parts of
the oil and gases process from
upstream production to gas plants,
pipelines, LNG and petrochemicals
plants.
3. Natural gas treatment and Processing
• Natural gas treatment typically consists of mercury removal,
Condensate removal, carbon dioxide removal and drying
(dehydration).
• Drying of the wet natural gas is typically performed at the
pretreatment stage in molecular adsorbers.
• The concentration of the sour gas components, it may also be
necessary to remove hydrogen sulfide (H₂S) (referred to as sour
gas) and carbon dioxide (CO₂) from the natural gas.
 If the sour gas content is low, the sour components and
water can be removed by means of adsorption. Mercury
guard beds are recommended to protect people and
equipment.
 Absorption
Adsorption
Membrane
LNG is transported by a specialized
insulated tanker, which keeps the
LNG at its boiling point. If any of the
LNG vaporizes, it is vented out of the
storage area and used to power the
transport vessel.