Separation of C4+ hydrocarbons from natural gas using silicalite membranes

邓迪能源有限公司是一家国际石油和天然气加工公司，管理海上天然气和陆上轻 安大略的伊利湖及其周边地区的石油储量。邓迪操作和维护两个钻井平台，并有压缩和 海岸的加工设施。通过管理靠近工业消费者和现有公用事业基础设施的储备， 邓迪能源公司能够最大限度地降低运营、储存和运输成本，并确保长期销售合同。 邓迪正在寻求一种具有成本效益的工艺，以改善他们的原料天然气产品流，其中含有残余的 不需要的烃。不期望的烃的存在降低了天然气的甲烷含量，并且使天然气中的甲烷含量降低。 要想销售，就必须用来自其他威尔斯井的更清洁的天然气稀释。当不期望的烃含量高时， 用于混合的清洁天然气的可用性低，天然气不符合公用事业规范。因此该 天然气不能出售给消费者，开采天然气所花费的时间和能源也得不到补偿。邓迪能源 渥太华大学的Tezel博士首次合作进行实验， 为了研究吸附性硅质岩膜分离具有4或更高分子量的不希望的烃的潜在用途， 其结构中的碳（C4+）数（例如，丁烷、异丁烷、戊烷等）甲烷是地球上 天然气的重要组成部分。 本研究设计并制备了新型硅分子筛膜，考察了操作压力、原料气等因素对膜性能的影响 特别是组合物，将在实验室中研究这些膜。最好的膜将在 邓迪能源温莎设施。不同的膜，以及分离过程将被开发，邓迪 能源将能够在本研究结束时进入市场。

Dundee Energy Ltd. is an international oil and gas processing company that manages offshore natural gas and onshore light oil reserves in and around Lake Erie, Ontario. Dundee operates and maintains two drilling rigs and has compression and processing facilities on shore. By managing reserves that are close to industrial consumers and existing utility infrastructure, Dundee Energy is able to minimize operational, storage, and transportation costs, and secure long-term sales contracts. Dundee is seeking a cost effective process to improve their raw natural gas product stream, which contains residual undesired hydrocarbons. The presence of undesired hydrocarbons reduces the methane content of natural gas, and to be saleable, it must be diluted with cleaner natural gas from other wells. When undesired hydrocarbon content is high, and the availability of clean natural gas for mixing is low, the natural gas does not meet utility specifications. Consequently this gas cannot be sold to consumers, and the time and energy used to extract the gas are not compensated for. Dundee Energy has approached Dr. Tezel at the University of Ottawa for her expertise in this first-time collaboration to perform experiments to examine the potential use of adsorptive silicalite membranes to separate undesired hydrocarbons with 4 or a higher number of carbons (C4+) in their structure (e.g., butane, isobutane, pentane, etc.) from methane, which is the most significant component of natural gas. In this study, new silicalite membranes will be designed and prepared and the effects of operating pressure, and feed gas composition in particular, will be investigated in the lab for these membranes. The best membrane will be demonstrated at Dundee Energys Windsor facilities. Different membranes, as well as separation processes will be developed that Dundee Energy will be able to take to the market at the end of this study.