2013•Unpublished venueRequires access
Natural Gas Purification
Haiqing Lin, Lloyd S. White, Kaaeid Lokhandwala, Richard W. Baker
Open publisher page 19 citations
Abstract
Abstract Since the installation of the first membrane system for CO2removal in the early 1980s, membrane separation has become a proven technology for natural gas purification, such as the removal of carbon dioxide, hydrogen sulfide, heavy hydrocarbons, and nitrogen. Membrane systems can perform the bulk removal of impurities or produce pipeline natural gas. Today, large membrane plants can process up to 1 billion standard cubic feet of natural gas per day (scfd) for CO2removal. This article outlines the advantages of and challenges to membrane processes for natural gas purification, and provides an overview of the advancement in membrane materials, membrane structure, membrane separation performance, module configuration, and process designs for natural gas purification. Furthermore, this article reviews the current commercial membrane systems installed in natural gas processing plants, providing theory and literature references relevant to commercially practiced technology, as well as case design studies derived from actual industrial installations.