The wide variety of gas sources today has created new challenges for power generation (refineries, hydrocarbon processing plants, gas-to-power machines, biogas processes and fuel gas transportation and metering). Gas quality can vary widely, which can cause uneven energy levels and damage to turbines and downstream equipment. Power generators need to accurately establish gas energy and to determine fuel quality to ensure optimal combustion and to control emissions. But today's gas sources include conventional drilled gas as well as gas from fracking, biogas, etc. Each source may have different composition and may contain different levels of impurities.
Natural Gas Composition Analysis
Composition analysis of C1 – C5 alkane (methane, ethane, propane, butanes and pentanes) gases is important in various applications within the LNG industries, with applications ranging from quality monitoring during production, custody transfer, to its use in power generation. Advanced process control technologies providing fast and accurate feed and product analysis are critical in optimizing efficiency and payback in various processing stages. In power generation applications, on-line and fast sensors are required to ensure optimum combustion efficiency and acceptable emission levels. In LNG transport applications, fast and easy-to-use analyzers are desired to ensure quality at transfer points.
The LNG industry has generally focused on large baseload plants on land for many years. However, in recent years, smaller plants have received considerable investments including Floating Liquefied Natural Gas (FLNG) plants. In these plants, simple, low-cost and maintenance-free online analysis is key due to CAPEX/OPEX tradeoff shifts. In addition, some of these plants are built in areas where access is limited, making complex analyzer system support cost prohibitive.
Natural Gas Composition Analysis Solutions
An all-optical hydrocarbon gas analyzer utilizing a Tunable Filter Spectroscopy “engine” has been developed and used in various natural gas processing applications from drilling to pipeline gas analysis in power generation.
The Precisive® 5 Hyrdocarbon Analyzer from MKS is a stand-alone TFS analyzer packaged in a NEMA4X, IP66 rated, Div2/Zone2 certified box and is an attractive alternative to the traditional gas chromatograph technique in various LNG measurements. It provides speciated concentration values of methane, ethane, propane, iso-butane and n-butane as well as pentanes. From these values, calorific value and Wobbe index are computed and reported. Optional carbon-dioxide and hydrogen sulfide direct measurement channels are also available.
Syngas Reaction Analysis
The rising cost of fossil fuels and the worldwide need for reduction in green house gases have sparked renewed interest in alternative fuel sources that require less energy to produce. Gasification of biomass, coke and other residuals from petroleum, coal, municipal and industrial wastes can produce synthetic gas or "syngas". Syngas can be used directly as fuel; as well, it can be used to produce hydrocarbon fuels, hydrogen for fuel cells, and chemical feedstocks such as methanol. The analytical methods employed for quality assurance in syngas production must provide simultaneous and accurate data on mixtures of contaminants in the presence of high CO and CO2 content. The contaminant levels in syngas range in concentration from high ppm to % levels, depending upon the final product required.
Syngas Reaction Analysis Solutions
The MKS MultiGas™ 2030 FTIR Continuous Gas Analyzer provides an effective solution for the simultaneous and accurate analysis of multicomponent mixtures such as those found in the syngas process. The high resolution (0.5 cm-1) of the spectra obtained using the MultiGas™ 2030 permits excellent speciation of like molecules, with the instrument capable of separate analyses for such similar species as butane, propane, ethane and methane. It also allows for low level analysis even in the presence of high levels of moisture (in particular, for SO2 and NOx).
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