Aerosols in gas transporting systems

Research output: Thesis › Master's Thesis

Abstract

The transport of gas from regions beyond Europe has increased in the last years due to the growing energy demand. Therefore problems concerning the gas transport are of utmost importance. One problem is the existence of fluids in gas transporting systems and also at the end customers, although drying units and separators are installed at the compressor stations and branching points. The objective of this thesis is to show possible scenarios for the generation of fluids in dry gas, which fulfils certain quality standards like limitations of dew points. Further investigations are the conditions for liquid hold up and the transport of fluid in pipelines through these units. Moreover the flow regime of these fluids is analyzed to verify that these liquids are really transported as aerosols. The practical part of this work is done for the Trans Austrian Gas (TAG) system, which transports dry gas. Key findings are that heavy hydrocarbons above C6+ have a significant impact on the phase diagram of the gas, although their fraction is in the range of 0.1% of the total gas composition. For this reason the influence of entrained sealing oil at gas compressors on the phase diagram is researched. Another fluid, which can be found in pipelines, is glycol. Its phase behaviour and the possible formation of aerosols is tested. Another finding is that the geometry of the pipeline system influences the flow of liquids dependent on the flow regime. This again has an effect on the overall phase diagrams of the fluid stream in the single branches and can contribute to the liquid generation. A phenomenon that is also discussed is that fluids cannot always be found at the same places in a pipeline system. Reasons for the vanishing of liquid are presented and improved solutions for the reduction of possible fluids are given.

Details

Translated title of the contributionAerosol in Gas-Transport Systemen
Original languageEnglish
QualificationDipl.-Ing.
Supervisors/Advisors
Award date27 Jun 2008
Publication statusPublished - 2008