Experimental and theoretical study of associated petroleum gas processing into normalized gas by soft steam reforming

Abstract

The article presents the results of experimental investigation and mathematical modeling of a new technology for converting associated petroleum gas to a normalized combustible gas that can be used in gas turbine and gas reciprocator power plants or, after removing part of the СО₂, can be pipelined. The essence of the new technology is that the C2+ hydrocarbons contained in associated petroleum gas are converted by soft steam reforming into a gaseous fuel that consists mainly of methane and contains carbon dioxide and a small amount of hydrogen. This process increases the volume of the gas mixture and normalizes its heating value and Wobbe index to the standard characteristics of commercial natural gas (purified from СО₂). The soft steam reforming technology has been tested on laboratory, pilot, and pre-commercial scales. A mathematical model has been developed for the process. A numerical analysis based on this model has demonstrated that, using this technology, it is possible to process associated petroleum gases varying widely in methane homologue concentrations in one tubular catalytic reactor.