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Absorbed natural gas system whith guard bed device (ANGUARD)

Deliverables

The required properties of an activated carbon for use in an efficient pre-adsorbent guard bed have been identified. Twelve candidate formulations were identified and from these a process of testing and characteriseration has led to first five, and then 2 optimised carbon adsorbent formulations. Potential direct applications will comprise large-scale storage facilities for diurnal gas storage, power generation storage facilities, and smaller scale CHP installations. Even a single moderate-sized diurnal storage facility will require between 300 and 3000 tonnes of carbon adsorbent, representing a total value of up to 3 million Euro, just for the adsorbent. As a result of the ANGUARD project, a number of activated carbons applicable to ELCD were identified.
The first ever dynamic model of multi-component adsorption on activated carbons of the significant trace components of natural gas including odorants, has been developed. The adsorption equilibrium model was extended to multi-component competitive adsorption using the Ideal Adsorbed Solution theory. This predictive model forms the basis for the design, operation and control of the guard bed system.
A conceptual process that can be built and that will work satisfactorily, particularly in maintaining the odorant in the desorbed gas within specified limits, has been devised. A flexible scheme and control system increasing the degree of process control has been designed. This also results in potential size reduction and lowering capital costs for the overall process. An innovative guard bed system scheme with the design capability to meet the specified technical targets has been developed by close interaction between the process, modelling and adsorbent development functions within the project.
This result incorporates the following achievements: - Design and construction of a guard bed and associated pipework and valving to meet the requirements specified for ANGUARD. - Development of sophisticated software framework, protocols and routines including interface with control valves, analytical equipment, the Advantica ANG rig, and the dynamic adsorption model. - Integration of all the ANGUARD technical developments to date to produce a system able to produce proof-of-concept data. - Testing of this integrated system with real natural gas to demonstrate that ANG storage can be realised.
Unique experimental determinations of adsorption equilibria for the trace components of natural gas including, ethane, propane, n-butane, n-pentane, and odorant compounds tert-butyl mercaptan (TBM) and tetrahydrothiophene (THT) were obtained on a newly developed carbon formulation (ANGUARD 5, section 2.2.3) provided by SSCL. The experimental adsorption data were successfully correlated using the Adsorption Potential Theory. A highly sophisticated experimental installation was designed and built to enable these measurements which could set the standard for future measurements of this type.

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