Primary Growth Behavior of Sulfur Particles through the Throttle Valve in the Transmission System of High Sulfur Content Natural Gas

Gang Liu (), Duo Chen, Bo Li and Changjun Li
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Gang Liu: College of Safety Engineering, Chongqing University of Science & Technology, Chongqing 401331, China
Duo Chen: College of Safety Engineering, Chongqing University of Science & Technology, Chongqing 401331, China
Bo Li: College of Safety Engineering, Chongqing University of Science & Technology, Chongqing 401331, China
Changjun Li: CNPC Key Laboratory of Oil & Gas Storage and Transportation, School of Petroleum Engineering, Southwest Petroleum University, Chengdu 610500, China

Energies, 2023, vol. 16, issue 7, 1-31

Abstract: The deposition of sulfur particles in gathering and transportation pipeline system can cause serious safety problems and economic losses. When the high sulfur content natural gas (HSCNG) flows through the throttle valve of the gathering and transportation system, it will cause the supersaturation of elemental sulfur in the gas phase, and then the sulfur crystal nuclei and sulfur particles will appear in the pipeline system. Studying the initial growth behavior of sulfur crystal nuclei and sulfur particles can lay a necessary prerequisite for the accurate prediction of sulfur particle deposition in high sulfur content natural gas gathering and transportation (HSCNGGT) pipelines. Based on the homogeneous nucleation theory in crystallization kinetics, a mathematical model of elemental sulfur nucleation was established. Taking the throttling condition in the process of HSCNGGT as an example, the effects of temperature, pressure and H 2 S concentration in HSCNG on the critical nucleation radius and nucleation rate of elemental sulfur were explored. The results show that: (1) after the supersaturation of elemental sulfur, sulfur crystal nuclei with nanoscale radius will be precipitated. The temperature and pressure after throttling have great influence on the nucleation radius, and the influence of H 2 S concentration on the nucleation radius is more complex. (2) The temperature, pressure and H 2 S concentration after throttling also have great influence on the nucleation rate. By solving the growth kinetics model of sulfur particles based on Brownian condensation, it is found that the nano-sized sulfur crystal nuclei can grow into micron-sized sulfur particles in a very short time.

Keywords: throttle valve; sulfur particle; nucleation; coagulation; high sulfur content natural gas (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q Q0 Q4 Q40 Q41 Q42 Q43 Q47 Q48 Q49 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023
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