Low-Quality Natural Gas Sulfur Removal/Recovery System
Natural gas provides more than one-fifth of all the primary energy used in the United States. Much raw gas is `subquality`, that is, it exceeds the pipeline specifications for nitrogen, carbon dioxide, and/or hydrogen sulfide content, and much of this low-quality natural gas cannot be produced economically with present processing technology. Against this background, a number of industry-wide trends are affecting the natural gas industry. Despite the current low price of natural gas, long-term demand is expected to outstrip supply, requiring new gas fields to be developed. Several important consequences will result. First, gas fields not being used because of low-quality products will have to be tapped. In the future, the proportion of the gas supply that must be treated to remove impurities prior to delivery to the pipeline will increase substantially. The extent of treatment required to bring the gas up to specification will also increase. Gas Research Institute studies have shown that a substantial capital investment in facilities is likely to occur over the next decade. The estimated overall investment for all gas processing facilities up to the year 2000 alone is approximates $1.2 Billion, of which acid gas removal and sulfur recovery are a significant part in terms of invested capital. This large market size and the known shortcomings of conventional processing techniques will encourage development and commercialization of newer technologies such as membrane processes. Second, much of today`s gas production is from large, readily accessible fields. As new reserves are exploited, more gas will be produced from smaller fields in remote or offshore locations. The result is an increasing need for technology able to treat small-scale gas streams.
- Research Organization:
- Membrane Technology and Research, Inc., Menlo Park, CA (United States)
- Sponsoring Organization:
- USDOE Assistant Secretary for Fossil Energy, Washington, DC (United States)
- DOE Contract Number:
- AC21-92MC28133
- OSTI ID:
- 620817
- Report Number(s):
- DOE/MC/28133-97/C0876; CONF-970367-; ON: DE97054228
- Resource Relation:
- Conference: Natural gas conference, Houston, TX (United States), 24-27 Mar 1997; Other Information: PBD: [1997]
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
Similar Records
New York Marcellus Shale: Industry boom put on hold
Evaluation of process costs for small-scale carbon dioxide removal from natural gas. Topical report, September 1989-December 1989