Upgrading high-nitrogen natural gas by selective membrane permeation
Substantial natural gas reserves exist in shut-in wells that cannot be produced because the gas contains large concentrations of nonfuel components such as nitrogen and carbon dioxide. In many cases, the excessive cost of upgrading these gases by cryogenic liquefaction and fractionation prohibits their use as pipeline gas. A significant increment of gas could be added to our usable supplies if a low-cost method for methane separation existed. Preliminary experimental work has been done to establish the technical feasibility of membrane separation for high-nitrogen natural gas. An extensive screening of commercial and developmental diffusion membranes revealed only a few that are selective for nitrogen. Polyacrylonitrile (PAN) exhibited the highest nitrogen-methane separation factors of the membranes tested. However, the permeation rates for PAN are too low for a practical separation system. Evaluation of membranes of PAN with vinyl and other polymers indicated that permeation rates could be increased while still maintaining separation efficiency of PAN in bilayer membranes. The experimental methods and results of this work and the potential value of the composite PAN membrane system are discussed.
- OSTI ID:
- 6430659
- Report Number(s):
- CONF-810417-7
- Resource Relation:
- Conference: 90. AICHE national meeting, Houston, TX, USA, 5 Apr 1981
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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Related Subjects
ACRYLONITRILE
COMPARATIVE EVALUATIONS
MEMBRANES
SCREENING
METHANE
DIFFUSION
SEPARATION PROCESSES
NATURAL GAS
PURIFICATION
NITROGEN
ORGANIC POLYMERS
POLYETHYLENES
PVC
TEFLON
FEASIBILITY STUDIES
PERMEABILITY
ALKANES
CHLORINATED ALIPHATIC HYDROCARBONS
ELEMENTS
ENERGY SOURCES
FLUIDS
FLUORINATED ALIPHATIC HYDROCARBONS
FOSSIL FUELS
FUEL GAS
FUELS
GAS FUELS
GASES
HALOGENATED ALIPHATIC HYDROCARBONS
HYDROCARBONS
MATERIALS
NITRILES
NONMETALS
ORGANIC CHLORINE COMPOUNDS
ORGANIC COMPOUNDS
ORGANIC FLUORINE COMPOUNDS
ORGANIC HALOGEN COMPOUNDS
ORGANIC NITROGEN COMPOUNDS
PETROCHEMICALS
PETROLEUM PRODUCTS
PLASTICS
POLYMERS
POLYOLEFINS
POLYTETRAFLUOROETHYLENE
POLYVINYLS
SYNTHETIC MATERIALS
030300* - Natural Gas- Drilling
Production
& Processing