Chemical Industry I Gas Measurement I Natural Gas Analysis
Natural gas is an indispensable energy source for industry, as it is not only used to generate heat and electricity and as a starting material in chemical processes, but can also be used to produce hydrogen on an industrial scale. Natural gas is particularly important in the chemical, automotive, steel, food, paper and glass industries. It consists mainly of the hydrocarbon methane and is traded internationally according to its energy content, which depends on the composition of the gas. The exact determination of the gas composition is therefore crucial for determining its economic value.
Natural gas is a natural product whose composition, and therefore energy content, can vary greatly depending on the source. Precise and repeated determination of the natural gas mixture is therefore essential. Conventional measurement methods such as gas chromatography come with the downside of being very time-consuming and cost-intensive due to the necessary use of carrier and calibration gases.
However, due to the high explosion risk of gases, the laser power is strictly regulated to prevent possible ignition. Therefore, the detection of the optical measuring device must be so sensitive that the natural gas mixture can be analyzed safely even at low laser power.
In order to increase energy density, natural gas is transported in pipelines under high pressure. The measurement technology used must be robust enough to withstand these pressures.
When natural gas is transported overland, it is transported via distribution networks in pipelines to the end consumer or stored in pore or cavern storage facilities for future use. Before being fed into the transmission network, the qualitative analysis of the main components of the natural gas is carried out to determine the actual calorific value. A precise qualitative analysis of the concentrations of the main components such as methane, butane and propane is possible, as these can be detected spectroscopically and evaluated chemometrically.
A more detailed description on how this application was realized using online measurement technology can be found in our detailed application report, which you can download from the info column at the top of the page.