Simulation and feasibility study of hydrocarbon liquids extraction from gas with reverse condensation behaviour using supersonic nozzle

In this study, supersonic nozzle is introduced as a high pressure system capable of separating condensate gas from natural gas. One of the most important advantages of this system is that the pressure recovery is largely in the divergent region of the nozzle during the shock wave phenomenon. On the other hand, the supersonic nozzle do not have rotating equipment and their use does not require energy. For modeling of supersonic separators, a series of nonlinear equations were solved numerically using MATLAB and HYSYS software. In this investigation, the effect of temperature, pressure and flow rate of feed inlet, return pressure on nozzle output and flow behavior inside nozzle are evaluated. The results of present work show that the selective separation of water and gas condensates by increasing the inlet pressure at constant temperature, increasing the inlet temperature at a constant outlet pressure and controlling the return pressure is feasible.