CFD Simulation and Efficiency Analysis of Natural Gas Ejector-Booster System

Aditya Kurniawan, Rafida Nariswari Nuzuladzmi, Amanda Lailia Nur Afni

Abstract


Natural gas production involving several gas-well streams with different operating pressure creates a problem, especially for lower-pressure streams. Usually, a compressor unit is installed to enable a lower-pressure stream to tie in the higher-pressure stream. However, this solution requires high costs and investment related to compressor operation. Natural gas ejector provides an alternative, where a higher-pressure stream act as the motive fluid to withdraw the lower-pressure stream.  This work aims to simulate the flow inside the ejector using ANSYS Fluent CFD simulator. The model used is validated to published data by other authors. Ejector efficiency is calculated for several operating pressure and ejector geometry: ratio of mixing tube length to diameter. We found that the variation in L/D ratio of mixing tube in current study did not significantly affect the ejector performance. Conversely, it was strongly affected by both motive and suction pressure, where the entrainment ratio is generally higher for lower pressure ratio. On the other hand, the efficiency of ejector process exhibited an optimum behavior, where we obtained the highest efficiency of 26.7% at pressure ratio of 0.1765. Therefore, this result can be utilized as the recommended operating condition.

Keywords


natural gas; ejector; efficiency; CFD; simulation

Full Text:

PDF

References


Aldas, K., Sen, F., & Ozkul, I. (2013). The Investigation of Gas Ejector Performance using CFD Modelling. TEM Journal, 2(2), 130–135.

Chong, D., Yan, J., Wu, G., & Liu, J. (2009). Structural optimization and experimental investigation of supersonic ejectors for boosting low pressure natural gas. Applied Thermal Engineering, 29(14–15), 2799–2807. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.applthermaleng.2009.01.014

Falsafioon, M., Aidoun, Z., & Ameur, K. (2019). Numerical Investigation on the Effects of Internal Flow Structure on Ejector Performance. Journal of Applied Fluid Mechanics, 12(6), 2003–2015. https://doi.org/10.29252/jafm.12.06.29895

Hassan Amin, A., Elbadawy, I., Elgendy, E., & Fatouh, M. (2019). Effect of geometrical factors interactions on design optimization process of a natural gas ejector. Advances in Mechanical Engineering, 11(9), 168781401988036. https://doi.org/10.1177/1687814019880368

Kidnay, A. J., Parrish, W. R., & McCartney, D. G. (2019). Appendix B. In Fundamentals of Natural Gas Processing (Third). CRC Press.

Kracik, J., & Dvorak, V. (2017). Preliminary study of the primary nozzle position of a supersonic air ejector with a constant-area mixing chamber. EPJ Web of Conferences, 143, 02056. https://doi.org/10.1051/epjconf/201714302056

Liu, F. (2014). Review on Ejector Efficiencies in Various Ejector Systems. In 15th International Refrigeration and Air Conditioning Conference. Purdue: School of Mechanical Engineering, Purdue University.

Ping, W., & Brian, M. (2020). Giving a Boost to Low Pressure Gas Well by Installing Gas Ejector. In Day 2 Wed, October 30, 2019. SPE. https://doi.org/10.2118/196440-MS

Ruangtrakoon, N., Aphornratana, S., & Sriveerakul, T. (2011). Experimental studies of a steam jet refrigeration cycle: Effect of the primary nozzle geometries to system performance. Experimental Thermal and Fluid Science, 35(4), 676–683. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.expthermflusci.2011.01.001

Setyono, A. E., Utomo, M. S. . T. S., & Aminata, J. (2022). Numerical Analysis of Geometry Ejector for Boosting Low Pressure Natural Gas. International Journal of Engineering Research & Technology (IJERT), 11(6), 266–269.

transvac. (2022). Ejectors for the Oil & Gas Industry. May 10, 2023, https://www.transvac.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/Transvac-Ejectors-Oil-Gas-Solutions-Small.pdf

Vu, N. Van, & Kracik, J. (2018). CFD simulation of ejector: is it worth to use real gas models? EPJ Web of Conferences, 180, 02075. https://doi.org/10.1051/epjconf/201818002075


Refbacks

  • There are currently no refbacks.
slot gacor slot gacor hari ini slot gacor 2025 demo slot pg slot gacor slot gacor