Simulation for Separation and Conversion Energy Consumption of Shale Gas

Abstract

Shale gas is an unconventional gas existing in organic-rich shale formations. The world is in a new energy revolution due to abundant shale gas reserve and thus its conversion and utilization has been a hot research topic in the field of chemical industry. Similar to natural gas, the primary component of shale gas is methane, with a little other alkane especially ethane, carbon dioxide and nitrogen. Through separation and conversion, the stream mainly contains methane can be the substitute of natural gas while that mainly contains ethane can be applied to produce ethylene by cracking reaction. So estimating the energy consumption for the aforementioned separation and conversion is of great significance to the application of shale gas. This paper carries on the research by establishing a shale gas separation and conversion process and performing a simulation by Aspen Plus and Aspen Hysys software. The total consumption is obtained by the simulation and heuristic energy integration is considered in this paper. The data indicates that this design is an energy saving process. The result of this paper can be a reference to practical shale gas separation and conversion energy consumption in chemical industries.