EXPERIMENTAL DETERMINATION OF THE SOLID-LIQUID-VAPOR LOCUS FOR THE CH 4 -CO 2 -H 2 S SYSTEM AND APPLICATION TO THE DESIGN OF A NEW LOW-TEMPERATURE DISTILLATION PROCESS FOR THE PURIFICATION OF NATURAL GAS

Abstract : The discovery of new natural gas reservoirs with high CO 2 and/or H 2 S content and the increasing energy demand compel industries to design new process solutions for the profitable exploitation of these kinds of gas reserves. Low temperature technologies have been studied to this purpose, showing higher performances and economic profitability when the CO 2 content in the natural gas stream is high. Since in low-temperature processes for natural gas upgrading a solid phase can be formed, experimental data are necessary to determine pressure, temperature and phase compositions when phase equilibrium involves the presence of a solid phase. In this way, it is possible to properly set up a model to predict the conditions for solid formation and define the optimal process operating conditions. Literature data for phase equilibria involving a solid phase in the CH 4-CO 2-H 2 S system are few. In this work experimental TPxy data have been