Natural gas vapor

Most LNG vehicles provide a manifold to capture natural gas vented from the LNG tank and direct it to a safe location outside of the vehicle, usually near the top of the vehicle where the vented natural gas will rise and dissipate safely. For vehicle maintenance facilities, exhaust systems with explosion-proof blowers and motors should be provided. When the vehicle is brought inside for maintenance, the exhaust system hose is placed over the LNG vent and the system is turned on. Any vented natural gas vapor is then safely removed from the building. For vehicle parking facilities, this is usually not a practical solution fc - cost and implementation reasons. 

III-l] HAVENS, J.A., A Description and Assessment of the SIGMET Liquefied Natural Gas Vapor Dispersion Model, US Coast Guard Rep. CG-M-3-79 (1979). 

Natural gas Hquids are recovered from natural gas using condensation processes, absorption (qv) processes employing hydrocarbon Hquids similar to gasoline or kerosene as the absorber oil, or soHd-bed adsorption (qv) processes using adsorbants such as siHca, molecular sieves, or activated charcoal. Eor condensation processes, cooling can be provided by refrigeration units which frequently use vapor-compression cycles with propane as the refrigerant or by... 

The separation of nitrogen from natural gas reHes on the differences between the boiling points of nitrogen (77.4 K) and methane (91.7 K) and involves the cryogenic distillation of a feed stream that has been preconditioned to very low levels of carbon dioxide, water vapor, and other constituents that would form soHds at the low processing temperatures. 

Natural gas is attractive as a fuel ia many appHcatioas because of its relatively clean burning characteristics and low air pollution (qv) potential compared to other fossil fuels. Combustion of natural gas iavolves mixing with air or oxygen and igniting the mixture. The overall combustion process does not iavolve particulate combustion or the vaporization of Hquid droplets. With proper burner design and operation, the combustion of natural gas is essentially complete. No unbumed hydrocarbon or carbon monoxide is present ia the products of combustioa. 

Natural-gas components include water vapor, carbon dioxide (qv), sometimes hydrogen sulfide, heavier hydrocarbons (qv), methane, nitrogen, small amounts of argon, traces of neon and hydrogen, and helium. The production of pure helium from natural gas requires three basic processing steps (73). 

Butanes are recovered from raw natural gas and from petroleum refinery streams that result from catalytic cracking, catalytic reforming, and other refinery operations. The most common separation techniques are based on a vapor—Hquid, two-phase system by which Hquid butane is recovered from the feed gas. 

Naphtha desulfurization is conducted in the vapor phase as described for natural gas. Raw naphtha is preheated and vaporized in a separate furnace. If the sulfur content of the naphtha is very high, after Co—Mo hydrotreating, the naphtha is condensed, H2S is stripped out, and the residual H2S is adsorbed on ZnO. The primary reformer operates at conditions similar to those used with natural gas feed. The nickel catalyst, however, requires a promoter such as potassium in order to avoid carbon deposition at the practical levels of steam-to-carbon ratios of 3.5—5.0. Deposition of carbon from hydrocarbons cracking on the particles of the catalyst reduces the activity of the catalyst for the reforming and results in local uneven heating of the reformer tubes because the firing heat is not removed by the reforming reaction. 

Fresh reducing gas is generated by reforming natural gas with steam. The natural gas is heated in a recuperator, desulfurized to less than 1 ppm sulfur, mixed with superheated steam, further preheated to 620°C in another recuperator, then reformed in alloy tubes filled with nickel-based catalyst at a temperature of 830°C. The reformed gas is quenched to remove water vapor, mixed with clean recycled top gas from the shaft furnace, reheated to 925°C in an indirect fired heater, and injected into the shaft furnace. For high (above 92%) metallization a CO2 removal unit is added in the top gas recycle line in order to upgrade the quaUty of the recycled top gas and reducing gas. 

Both hollow-fiber and spiral-wound modules are used ia gas-separation appHcations. Spiral-wound modules are favored if the gas stream contains oil mist or entrained Hquids as ia vapor separation from air or natural gas separations. 

Many commercial gases are generated by burning hydrocarbons (qv) eg, natural gas or propanes, in air (see Gas, natural Liquified petroleum gas). The combustion process, especially the amount of air used, determines the gas composition. For a given fuel-to-air ratio, the gas composition can be used to determine the water vapor content required to achieve a desired equiUbrium carbon content of the austenite (see Combustiontechnology). 

The largest pipeline transport of gas, by far, is the movement of methane (natural gas). Natural gas can be Hquefted, but it is not pipelined in Hquid form because of cost and safety considerations. For overseas transport, it is shipped as Hquefted natural gas (LNG) in insulated tankers, unloaded at special unloading faciHties, vaporized, and then transported over land in pipelines as a gas. 

Hydrogen sulfide has been produced in commercial quantities by the direct combination of the elements. The reaction of hydrogen and sulfur vapor proceeds at ca 500°C in the presence of a catalyst, eg, bauxite, an aluminosihcate, or cobalt molybdate. This process yields hydrogen sulfide that is of good purity and is suitable for preparation of sodium sulfide and sodium hydrosulfide (see Sodium compounds). Most hydrogen sulfide used commercially is either a by-product or is obtained from sour natural gas. 

The hydrocarbon gas feedstock and Hquid sulfur are separately preheated in an externally fired tubular heater. When the gas reaches 480—650°C, it joins the vaporized sulfur. A special venturi nozzle can be used for mixing the two streams (81). The mixed stream flows through a radiantly-heated pipe cod, where some reaction takes place, before entering an adiabatic catalytic reactor. In the adiabatic reactor, the reaction goes to over 90% completion at a temperature of 580—635°C and a pressure of approximately 250—500 kPa (2.5—5.0 atm). Heater tubes are constmcted from high alloy stainless steel and reportedly must be replaced every 2—3 years (79,82—84). Furnaces are generally fired with natural gas or refinery gas, and heat transfer to the tube coil occurs primarily by radiation with no direct contact of the flames on the tubes. Design of the furnace is critical to achieve uniform heat around the tubes to avoid rapid corrosion at "hot spots."... 

There are direct substitutions of possible interest that would not be feasible without drastic changes in the feed system or pressure. Thus if the available substitute for natural gas is, eg, a manufactured gas containing much CO, there would almost always be a mismatch of the WIs unless the fuel could be further modified by mixing with some other gaseous fuel of high volumetric heating value (propane, butane, vaporized fuel oil, etc). Moreover, if there are substantial differences in eg, as a result of the presence of considerable H2 as well as CO in the substitute gas, the variation in dame height and dashback tendency can also make the substitution unsatisfactory for some purposes, even if the WI is reproduced. Refinements and additional criteria are occasionally appHed to measure these and other effects in more complex substitution problems (10,85). 

Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) plants can be categorized as peakshaving or baseload. Peakshaving LNG plants are built at the consumer end of natural gas pipelines to accumulate LNG in storage tanks for later vaporization and sendout into the local grid during periods of peak demand. Baseload LNG plants provide a steady base supply of natural gas to utiHty companies, generally by transportation of LNG by ship from one country to another. 

MPa (44 psi) for vaporizing and rewarming to cool the natural gas feed and high-pressure refrigerant. 

LPG. LPG could be a principal alternative transportation fuel if its other uses were displaced by natural gas. A significant number of LPG fueling stations are located throughout the United States. LPG is a Hquid fuel and does not suffer the same driving range problem as natural gas. Because LPG vapor pressure is high, the storage tank has to withstand 2800 kPa (400 psi). 

The mixed refrigerant cwcle was developed to meet the need for hq-uefying large quantities of natural gas to minimize transportation costs of this fuel. This cycle resembles the classic cascade cycle in principle and may best be understood by referring to that cycle. In the latter, the natural gas stream after purification is cooled successively by vaporization of propane, ethylene, and methane. Each refrigerant may be vaporized at two or three pressure levels to increase the natural gas coohng efficiency, but at a cost of considerable increased process complexity. 

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