A PRESSURE SWING ADSORPTION/TEMPERATURE SWING ADSORPTION PROCESS FOR NITROGEN REJECTION FROM NATURAL GAS

A COMBINATION PRESSURE SWING ADSORPTION (PSA)/TEMPERATURE SWING ADSORPTION (TSA) PROCESS WILL BE DEVELOPED FOR REMOVING NITROGEN FROM LOW-QUALITY NATURAL GAS IN ORDER TO PRODUCE PIPELINE QUALITY NATURAL GAS ON A SMALL SCALE. NITROGEN REJECTION REMAINS THE MAJOR TECHNOECONOMIC HURDLE FOR UTILIZING MAJOR RESOURCES OF LOW-QUALITY NATURAL GAS. THIS WILL PROVIDE A METHODOLOGY FOR PRODUCING A VALUABLE FUEL RESOURCE OUT OF GAS RESOURCES WHICH ARE CURRENTLY EITHER BEING THROWN AWAY OR ARE LEFT UNUSED IN THE GEOLOGIC FORMATIONS IN WHICH THEY WERE DISCOVERD. THIS PROJECT WILL DEVELOP A POTENTIALLY PATENTABLE PROCESS FOR NITROGEN REJECTION APPLIED ON A SMALL SCALE, ALLOWING THE MATCHING OF PROCESSING CAPABILITIES TO THE SCALE OF LOW-QUALITY GAS PRODUCTION. THE PHASE I PROJECT WILL INCLUDE LABORATORY TESTING OF PSA PARAMETERS FOR DIFFERENT ADSORBENTS, REVIEW AND SELECTION OF POSSIBLE SITES, AND WILL DEFINE THE VARIABLES AND OPTIMIZE THE PSA PROCESS. A TEAM HAS BEEN ESTABLISHED WHICH WILL DEVELOP THEAPPLICABLE TECHNOLOGIES. THE TEAM WILL HAVE ACCESS TO NUMEROUS SITES WHERE LOW-QUALITY GAS RESOURCES ARE AVAILABLE.