Natural Gas

In a typical operation of extracting natural gas, the excavation point is drilled, a concrete and metal casing is installed into the whole, and then a collection pump is installed above it. Natural gas is usually a by-product of processing oil. It can be found in coal beds, natural gas fields, and oil fields. Natural gas is extracted from gas wells thousands of feet deep. Since natural gas isn’t a pure product, it must first undergo processing before it can actually be used as a consumer fuel. The gas is then cleaned, processed, and sent to stations to be compressed. The additional elements, such as acid and mercury, are removed to make it usable by the consumer. After being compressed, it is put into pipe lines and sent to where it is needed. The decompression process of which gas is extracted from a field is referred to as retrograde condensation.

In more detail, raw natural gas is composed primarily of methane; although, it also contains a large number of other various hydrocarbon gases. The first stage in the process is to remove acid gases utilising amine or membrane treatment. The excess acid is typically processed into sulphur products. Secondly, any remaining water is removed, which is followed by the removal of mercury. Lastly, the nitrogen and natural gas liquids are removed from the natural gas by using extremely low temperatures (cryogenic distillation, which is created by the expansion of one or more elevated pressure process streams). The final result is the natural gas that our modern world utilises for several purposes.
In a summarized process, here are the steps below:

Step 1: Firstly, the acid must be removed from the gas. This can be achieved by an amine treating and a sulfinol process which causes the acid to be separated from the gas.
Step 2: Secondly, the natural gas must be dehydrated, stripping it of moisture. It goes through a glycol and PSA (Pressure Swing Adsorption) unit, ridding it off excess moisture. An adsorption process is one which accumulates the atoms and molecules on the surface of a material.
Step 3: In addition, mercury must be removed from the gas. Once the natural gas is dehydrated with the process mentioned in the previous step, the mercury can be removed with activated carbon. Activated carbon is extremely porous (possesses a large amount of void) and can be used for adsorption and chemical reactions.
Step 4: Then, nitrogen must be removed from the gas. Simply put, an adsorption process removes the nitrogen.
Step 5: Finally, the natural gas can be distributed and be utilised by consumers. It can be used in various processes such as residential use, power generation, cooking, powering natural-gas vehicles, fertilization, and aviation.