A PRESENTATION ON

MODELLING AND SIMULATION OF GAS

TURBINE FUEL GAS CONDTIONING UNIT
USING ASPEN HYSYS
BY

AWEKE, FAVOUR BOYE

FUO/17/CME/4792
DEPARTMENT OF CHEMICAL ENGINEERING,
FEDERAL UNIVERSITY OTUOKE, BAYELSA STATE.
NOVEMBER, 2023.
 TABLE OF CONTENTS
• Title Page 1
• Table of Contents 2
• Problem Statement 3
• Justification 4
• Aim and Objectives of Study 5
• Scope of Study 6
• Literature Review 7
• Methodology 8
• Results and Discussion 9
• Conclusion and Recommendation 10
• References 11
PROBLEM STATEMENT
• In the wake of the global climate crisis, the world has gradually transitioned away from
more dangerous sources of electricity. Natural gas has become one of the most effective
and cleanest methods of electricity.
• With the increased demand for more natural gas-powered plants, the treatment of gas has
become even more important as this also determines the cost and quality of output and
longevity of equipment. Better processed gas would aid the migration to efficient and
cleaner gas turbines as a more attainable means of electricity production.
JUSTIFICATION OF STUDY
• Fuel gas that is not conditioned runs the risk of combustion which is hazardous for gas
turbines and operators as well. Gas that has not been treated or is treated wrongly may
also wreak havoc on machine parts and cause erosion. Clean fuel burns more efficiently
and increases the amount of power a turbine can produce. Less maintenance is also
needed which saves operators more money in the long run (Bathie, 1996).
• The need to properly design and simulate the process of conditioning is of the essence as
it promotes the production of cleaner fuel gas which helps a turbine function better while
releasing less emissions than most other methods of electricity production by fossil fuels
(Schneider & Sommer, 2013).
AIMS
• This research aims to model and simulate the processes of a working fuel gas
conditioning unit for a gas turbine through Aspen HYSYS.

OBJECTIVES
• To determine specifications of a working unit through observation and literature study.
• To collect data for raw fuel gas and conditioned gas from oil companies and gas turbine
operators.
• To design a functional unit highlighting processes using Aspen HYSYS.
• To simulate and test processes in the unit using Aspen HYSYS before analysing results.
SCOPE OF THE STUDY

Necessary measures are needed to ensure that a fuel gas conditioning unit is manufactured
accurately. For the sake of this research, emphasis shall be made on the design and
simulation of the fuel gas conditioning unit based on the specifications and quality of
chosen fuel gas researched and observed as an individual system extracted from the gas
turbine system as a whole.
LITERATURE REVIEW
Campbell (1982) described the term “conditioning” as one referring to the portion of the
gas treatment process necessary to meet residue gas specifications. As accepted gas
specifications are similar globally due to the need to attain pure natural gas with lower to no
impurities. In the above stated presentation, Campbell (1982) further highlights the
objectives of a working fuel conditioning unit to be;
• Gas dehydration to prevent condensation of water.
• Hydrocarbon dew point control to prevent condensation.
• Removal of sulphur compounds and/or carbon dioxide to meet “sweetness” specifications
and process needs.
CONTD…

Although Konig, Marquardt, Mitsos, Viell & Dahmen (2020) found that variations to unit
designs and processes are made by manufacturers based on preference, safety protocols or
composition of or product desired, the following components were seen to be generally
necessary for the conditioning process of natural gas.
• Scrubber or Separator.
• Pre-heater.
• Pressure Reducer.
• Filtration Unit.
• Dew Point Control Unit.
METHODOLOGY
Aspen HYSYS was the chosen software for this design project based on the capability and
relative accessibility of the programme with respect to the required task. The steps to be
taken are as follows;
• Definition of components.
• Creation of flow/process diagram.
• Definition of process conditions.
• Input of values and running the simulation.
• Analysis of simulation results.
Compsition of feed gas attained
Component Approximate value in mole percent (%)

C1 77.37

C2 7.61

C3 6.19

iC4 1.39

nC4 2.12

iC5 0.73

nC5 0.63

C6 0.67

C7 (+Hypo) 1.09

N2 0.74
• Separation Unit;
• The raw natural gas will first enter this unit, where it will be separated into its constituent
components, such as methane, ethane, propane, butane, pentane, and heavier
hydrocarbons. The separation unit will use a series of distillation columns and/or pressure
swing adsorption (PSA) units to achieve the desired separation
• Dehydration unit & heat exchanger:
• The separated gas will then enter the dehydration unit, where the water vapour will be
removed from the gas stream. This will be achieved by using a series of glycol or silica
gel dehydration towers.
• The dehumidified gas will then pass through a heat exchanger, where it will be heated to
120°F.
• De-ethanizer:
• The heated gas will then enter the de-ethanizer column, where the ethane will be removed
from the gas stream.
• Final purification & CO2 removal units:
• The final purification units will further remove any impurities from the gas stream, such
as propane, butanes, pentanes, and heavier hydrocarbons by passing through the heat
exchanger.
• The purified gas will then be sent to the CO2 removal units, where the carbon dioxide
will be removed from the gas stream. This will be achieved by using a cryogenic
distillation column or a solid adsorbent material.
• The CO2-free gas will then be compressed and delivered to the pipeline.
ANALYSIS - SEPARATOR

Clear description of
components in feed stream after
passing through the separator.
The inlet feed gas is nearly
water saturated at the entry to
the process.
Most liquids are separated and
gas is passed through pressure
control valves afterwards.
ANALYSIS

Separtion yielded a two phase

dispersion.
Note that a temperature of
Chilled Gas as -27.3°F gave a
cricondentherm of Cold Vapor of
just over 15°F. Prevention of
Freezing in DPC Separator.
A typical technique to prevent
ice or hydrate formation is to
inject ethylene glycol (EG)
upstream of the Chiller.
ANALYSIS – PHASE ENVELOPE The results showed that the Cricondentherm
is 34.19°F, much colder than it needs to be to
meet the 15°F pipeline dew point
specification. We could reduce power
required for the propane cooling loop by
allowing this temperature to be lower.
However, since the gas in the pipeline will
experience pressures lower than the inlet’s
1000 psi, it is more appropriate to use the
cricondentherm as the controlling value for
this spec. For now we’ll use trial-and-error
to determine an appropriate temperature for
the cold separator.
ANALYSIS
Further reviews were documented using data obtained after simulation with Aspen HYSYS
software to quantify success in the simulation which include;
• Fuel Gas Heater Review
• Flow Rate Summary
• Process Control Summary
• Process Safety Measures
CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATION
• All parameters were successfully achieved and confirmed after simulation process. The
gas is nearly saturated with water at the inlet conditions (48 lb water per MMscfd dry
gas) and it enters the plant at 100 psig & 120°F. The produced pipeline gas would have a
gross heating value between 905 to 1050 Btu/scf1 & a hydrocarbon dew point no higher
than 15°F. The minimum temperature on blowdown is -9.4oC which does not exceed the
ASME CL 150 piping specifications. The produced liquids shall be exported via pipeline
& stabilized to have a TVP (true vapor pressure) at 100°F no greater than 103 psia.

• If the gross heating value spec cannot be achieved set the chilled separator to the lowest
reasonable temperature when using a simple propane chilling loop, -30°F A propane
refrigeration loop will be used to provide the chilling duty.
REFERENCES
Bathie, W. W. (1996) Fundamentals of Gas Turbines. Second Edition, John Wiley & Son
Inc.
Campbell, J.M. (1982) Design of gas conditioning and processing facilities. International
petroleum exhibition and technical symposium. Beijing.
Konig, A., Marquardt, W., Mitsos, A., Viell, J. & Dahmen, M. (2020) Integrated design of
renewable fuels and their production processes: recent advances and challenges. Current
Opinion in Chemical Engineering, 27:45-50.
Schneider, M. & Sommer, T. (2013) Turbines for Industrial Gas Turbine Systems. Energy,
Modern Gas Turbine Systems, Woodhead Publishing, pp 188-224e.
Thank You!
FOR LISTENING…