High Performance Membrane for Natural
Gas Sweetening Plants
Imran Ullah Khan, Mohd Hafiz Dzarfan Othman, and Asim Jilani
Abstract
The use of membrane technology in natural gas sweetening process has grown rapidly in recent years compared
to other traditional purification processes. Carbon dioxide
(CO 2 ) is the main culprit of greenhouse gases produced
through the combustion of fossil fuel. In this chapter,
various principles and mechanisms of gas separations on
the basis of solubility and diffusion are systematically
reviewed. Furthermore, the development and performance
of various polymeric and inorganic materials in light of
the recent challenges, advantages, and disadvantages for
natural gas purification are described. Development of
mixed matrix membrane for natural gas purification is one
of the potential solutions for the use of expensive, brittle,
and highly selective inorganic materials with low cost and
stable polymers. At the end of this chapter, an attempt is
also made to show the research development and future
direction of natural gas purification process through
highly selective membrane materials. The potential of the
hybrid process for natural gas purification is more
advantageous and economical compared to a single
membrane process.
Keywords
Membrane Á Gas separation Á Performance Á
Mechanisms Á Solubility Á Diffusion
1 Introduction
Gas separation by the membrane is based on the interaction
of specific gases with various membrane materials by
physical or chemical interaction. This technology is considered to be visible and advantageous for the purification of
raw natural gas at the industrial level. Natural gas sweetening is the process to clean the raw natural gas from
impurities to meet the specifications of the natural gas grid.
Raw natural gas is mainly composed of methane (CH 4 ),
some other light gases such as ethane (C 2 H 6 ), propane
(C 3 H 8 ), butane (C 4 H 10 ), and acid gases such as carbon
dioxide (CO 2 ) and hydrogen sulfide (H 2 S) (Rezakazemi
et al. 2014). The typical composition of raw natural gas is
shown in Table 1.
CO 2 is the main corrosive component of natural gas
which reduces the calorific value and increases the maintenance and operational cost (Khan et al. 2018a, b, c). It must
be reduced to less than 2% to decrease the corrosion of the
pipelines and equipment and also increase the heating value
of the gas (Hwang et al. 2015). Traditional technologies
which are available on the industrial level to purify the raw
natural gas include adsorption, membrane separation,
absorption (physical and chemical), and cryogenic technique. Chemical absorption is well known and has been
commercially used for CO 2 removal in various processes
and considered as a state-of-the-art technology. Although
these technologies offer many advantages such as high
separation performance and purity, they suffer from economics and environmental impacts that have led researchers
to find a more economical and environmental-friendly
I. U. Khan (&) Á M. H. D. Othman (&) Á A. Jilani
Faculty of Engineering, School of Chemical and Energy
Engineering, Advanced Membrane Technology Research Centre
(AMTEC), Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, 81310 Skudai,
Johor Bahru, Malaysia
e-mail: imran.khan@fcm3.paf-iast.edu.pk
M. H. D. Othman
e-mail: hafiz@petroleum.utm.my
I. U. Khan
Department of Chemical and Energy Engineering, Pak-Austria
Fachhochshule, Institute of Applied Sciences &Technology,
Khanpur Road, Mang, 22650 Haripur, Pakistan
A. Jilani
Center of Nanotechnology, King Abdul-Aziz University,
Jeddah, 21589, Saudi Arabia
© Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2021
Z. Zhang et al. (eds.), Membrane Technology Enhancement for Environmental Protection
and Sustainable Industrial Growth, Advances in Science, Technology & Innovation,
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-41295-1_5
59
Gas Sweetening Plants
Imran Ullah Khan, Mohd Hafiz Dzarfan Othman, and Asim Jilani
Abstract
The use of membrane technology in natural gas sweetening process has grown rapidly in recent years compared
to other traditional purification processes. Carbon dioxide
(CO 2 ) is the main culprit of greenhouse gases produced
through the combustion of fossil fuel. In this chapter,
various principles and mechanisms of gas separations on
the basis of solubility and diffusion are systematically
reviewed. Furthermore, the development and performance
of various polymeric and inorganic materials in light of
the recent challenges, advantages, and disadvantages for
natural gas purification are described. Development of
mixed matrix membrane for natural gas purification is one
of the potential solutions for the use of expensive, brittle,
and highly selective inorganic materials with low cost and
stable polymers. At the end of this chapter, an attempt is
also made to show the research development and future
direction of natural gas purification process through
highly selective membrane materials. The potential of the
hybrid process for natural gas purification is more
advantageous and economical compared to a single
membrane process.
Keywords
Membrane Á Gas separation Á Performance Á
Mechanisms Á Solubility Á Diffusion
1 Introduction
Gas separation by the membrane is based on the interaction
of specific gases with various membrane materials by
physical or chemical interaction. This technology is considered to be visible and advantageous for the purification of
raw natural gas at the industrial level. Natural gas sweetening is the process to clean the raw natural gas from
impurities to meet the specifications of the natural gas grid.
Raw natural gas is mainly composed of methane (CH 4 ),
some other light gases such as ethane (C 2 H 6 ), propane
(C 3 H 8 ), butane (C 4 H 10 ), and acid gases such as carbon
dioxide (CO 2 ) and hydrogen sulfide (H 2 S) (Rezakazemi
et al. 2014). The typical composition of raw natural gas is
shown in Table 1.
CO 2 is the main corrosive component of natural gas
which reduces the calorific value and increases the maintenance and operational cost (Khan et al. 2018a, b, c). It must
be reduced to less than 2% to decrease the corrosion of the
pipelines and equipment and also increase the heating value
of the gas (Hwang et al. 2015). Traditional technologies
which are available on the industrial level to purify the raw
natural gas include adsorption, membrane separation,
absorption (physical and chemical), and cryogenic technique. Chemical absorption is well known and has been
commercially used for CO 2 removal in various processes
and considered as a state-of-the-art technology. Although
these technologies offer many advantages such as high
separation performance and purity, they suffer from economics and environmental impacts that have led researchers
to find a more economical and environmental-friendly
I. U. Khan (&) Á M. H. D. Othman (&) Á A. Jilani
Faculty of Engineering, School of Chemical and Energy
Engineering, Advanced Membrane Technology Research Centre
(AMTEC), Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, 81310 Skudai,
Johor Bahru, Malaysia
e-mail: imran.khan@fcm3.paf-iast.edu.pk
M. H. D. Othman
e-mail: hafiz@petroleum.utm.my
I. U. Khan
Department of Chemical and Energy Engineering, Pak-Austria
Fachhochshule, Institute of Applied Sciences &Technology,
Khanpur Road, Mang, 22650 Haripur, Pakistan
A. Jilani
Center of Nanotechnology, King Abdul-Aziz University,
Jeddah, 21589, Saudi Arabia
© Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2021
Z. Zhang et al. (eds.), Membrane Technology Enhancement for Environmental Protection
and Sustainable Industrial Growth, Advances in Science, Technology & Innovation,
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-41295-1_5
59