A PROJECT ON

PRODUCTION LPG FROM

NATURAL GAS
STATEMENT
 Submit a project report on the recovery of LPG from
Associated Natural Gas of 3 million cu.m/day. Assume
the consumption of the gas is that of Bombay High. The
report should include the process design of distillation
columns for LPG and propane in addition to the material
balances over the entire plant.
LIQUEFIED PETROLEUM GAS (LPG)

 It is a mixture of hydrocarbon.
 It is liquefied petroleum based or natural gas based
hydrocarbon which is gaseous at ambient temperature
under atmospheric pressure by compression .
 Main components are propane and butane.
INTRODUCTION
 Long before time, however, use had been made of gas
compressed containers
 Limited amounts of this product were sold in cylinder in
England as early as 1870.
 In 1870 pintsch gas was developed and later used in railway
car lighting.
 Around 1907, blangas formed by cracking oil, was liquefied
by compressing it to about 1800 psig.
 Several containers in the United States, despite attendant
difficulties such as transportation costs and complexity of
equipment needed for its utilization.
GENRAL METHODS OF PRODUCTION OF LPG

LPG is produced by
1. Distillation at low temperature
2. Absorption and desorption
3. Compression and Expansion
4. Combined methods
LPG FROM NATURAL GAS
The process schemes for recovery of LPG from natural
gas are given below

1. ABSORPTION – STRIPPING FRACTIONATION

SCHEME

2. CRYOGENIC GAS-FLUID SEPARATION

FRACTIONATION SCHEME
ABSORPTION–STRIPPING FRACTIONATION
SCHEME
 Associated gas after compression and glycol drying is chilled and
flows into a deethanizing absorber / stripping in the absorption /
stripper, the feed gas is contacted with pre-saturated refrigerated
lean oil.
 The rich oil is partially stripped in the lower half of the column to
control the ethane content of the rich oil to comply with the propane
specification
 Heat is recovered from the hot lean oil in the fractionation reboilers
and the absorber stripper reboiler.
 The overhead product is separated in a two column fractionation
train to recovery propane overhead in the second column and
natural gasoline as a bottom product from the second column.
CRYOGENIC GAS-FLUID SEPARATION
FRACTIONATION SCHEME
 Associated gas, after dehydrating in molecular sieve dryers, is
chilled in a cascade of cold boxes (Plate heat exchangers) and shell
and tube heat exchangers to -370 C. The condensate is separated
from the gas stream which is discharged into main lean gas header.
 Condensed liquid from the separators is fed to a light end
fractionating column after exchanging the heat with the feed gas.
Light hydrocarbons (c1, c2 and c3 (max 100%) are removed from the
top and fed to lean gas header via residual gas compressor. L & F
bottoms (c3 + bottoms) is fed to LPG column.
 In LPG column, c3 and c4 fraction is recovered from the top as LPG
product and is pumped to LPG sphere.LPG column bottoms which
are heavy hydrocarbons i.e. c5 + are drawn as natural gasoline and
sent to storage tank after cooling with cooling water.
PROPERTIES
 LPG is liquefied petroleum gas and is obtained during
the processing of crude oil, or direct from the North Sea.
 Colourless and odourless. An odourising agent is added
before distribution to give its characteristic smell.
 Half as heavy as water when in liquid form. It will float
on water before vaporizing.
 Easily liquefied by pressure, taking up only around
1/250th of its gaseous volume. This means that a large
amount of LPG can be stored in a small place.
PROPERTIES
 Either commercial butane or commercial propane. These
are similar in use but propane has a boiling point and
hence a higher storage pressure. Commercial propane is
predominantly an outdoor fuel.
 At ambient temperature (i.e. 15 degrees Celsius),
propane and butane bottles contain the following
pressures:
Commercial BUTANE
2BAR (28psig)
Commercial PROPANE
7BAR (100psig)
SELECTION OF THE PROCESS
The reasons for the selection areas follows:
 The process is the most economical one.
 The refrigeration required for the entire plant would be supplied by
propane compression, cooling and flash vaporization to obtain the
desired streams of propane at appropriate temperatures.
 The heat exchange is optimized in process for minimum energy
input.
 No solvents are required in the process. Hence the storage facilities
are limited to LPG and natural gasoline
 The capital investment or regeneration of solvents for recycle is
fully saved.
 The propane compressor is run by a turbine using a fraction of lean
gas. So, no additional power input is necessary.
PROCESS DETAILS
 The wet gas from main fractionator overhead accumulator is first
flashed in compressor suction knock out drum, which is operated at
a pressure of 0.35 Kg/cm2g and400C to remove any condensate.
 The flashed gases from the drum are compressed in a two stage
centrifugal compressor to 16kg/cm2g. The compressor suction line
is steam traced down stream of suction knock out drum to avoid any
condensation due to ambient cooling.
 The gases from compressor first stage mix with unstabilised
Naphtha from accumulator along with wash water and are cooled in
compressor interstage cooler. The mixture of cooled gases
condensate and water is flashed in the compressor interstage knock
out drum operating at a pressure of 2.64kg/cm2g and 380C.
PROCESS DETAILS
 The compressed gas is mixed wash water, interstage condensate,
primary absorber bottom liquid and the top vapors from the stripper
before entering the compressor after cooler.
 The mixture of cooled gases, condensed liquid and water are
separated in the HP receiver operating at a pressure of 15kg/cm 2g
and a temperature of 380C.
 The sour water from the high-pressure receiver boot is sent to
interstage cooler as discussed above. The uncondensed vapors are
routed to the primary absorber for recovery of C3’S and C4’S.
 The condensed liquid from the receiver is pumped to stripper top
tray, since the cracked gas handled by compressor has appreciable
quantity of olefins and diolefines, it leads to deposition of gummy
material on the impeller surface.
PROCESS DETAILS
STRIPPER COLUMN
o The stripper column is a reboiled column having 26 valve trays.
Column operating at a pressure of 16.3kg/cm2g and 1400C at the
bottom and 16kg/cm2g pressure and 480C at the top.
o The column is designed to remove the undesirable light
hydrocarbons from the liquefied C3+ hydrocarbon stream to control
the vapor pressure of the LPG product.
o The amount of heat supplied through the reboiler is such that it
eliminates any absorbed C1 and C2 from the bottom product. The
stripper reboiler is of once through horizontal thermosiphon type
having two shells connected in series and stacked.
 The bottom stream of the stripper flows on its own pressure to the
debutaniser for separation of LPG and stabilized Naphtha. 
PROCESS DETAILS
NAPHTHA STABILIZER (OR) DEBUTANISER
 The debutaniser consists of 40 valve trays. Column operating at a
pressure of 12.7kg/cm2g and 2020C at the bottom and at a pressure of
11.7 kg/cm2g and 640C temperature at the top.
 The Naphtha stream after heat recovery is cooled in the stabilized
Naphtha air Cooler and finally in the stabilized Naphtha trim cooler to
required temperature of 380C. The cooled product stream is partly
recycled to primary absorber on flow control, where as the other is
sent to storage at a pressure of 13.0 kg/cm2g after its treatment in the
treatment units.
 The overhead vapors from the debutaniser are condensed in the
debutaniser overhead condenser, which is a total condenser.
 The net product LPG is pumped by LPG pumps to ATU Merox block
air flow control for treatment and then is routed at a pressure of 19.0
kg/cm2g and a temperature of 400C to storage.
COST ESTIMATION
o The total capital investment to process 3 million cu.m./day for
recovering LPG is estimated to be 15 crores.

o Total capital investment of the plant = 15 crores

o Fixed capital, 85% of FCI = 12.75 crores

o Working capital, 15% of FCI = 2.25 crores

o The depreciable capital investment is also estimated to be 12.75

crores. The total turnover (7480 MT of LPG @ 15,000
tonnes/annum) = 11.22 crores.
COST ESTIMATION
o Manufacturing cost = direct production cost + fixed charges + plant
overhead cost
= 6.732 + 1.4025 + 0.8976 = 9.0321 crores
o Gross profit = net sales – manufacturing cost
= 11.22 – 9.0321 = 2.1879 crores
o Net profit (Gross profit less taxes @ 55%) = 0.9845 crores
o Turnover ratio = Gross annual sales/ Fixed capital
= 11.22/12.75 = 0.88
o Payout time = (Depreciable fixed capital investment)/(Avg.
Profit/year + Avg.

Depreciation/year)
= 12.75/(0.9845+1.275)
= 5.643 years
THANK YOU