Properties of dry gases

Gas Formation Volume Factor:

Is defined as the volume of gas at reservoir condition required to produce one standard cubic feet of
gas at the surface.
There are different units to describe the gas formation volume factor like;
ft3/SCF, res cu ft/scf, res bbl/scf.
The shape of a plot of gas formation volume factor versus reservoir pressure at constant temperature
for a typical dry gas is given in the figure below;

F.V.F. of a gas may be calculated as the volume occupied by the gas at reservoir temperature and
pressure divided by the volume occupied by the same mass of gas @ standard condition.

= (1)

The volume of n moles of a gas at reservoir conditions may be obtained with the compressibility
equation of state.

= (2)

The volume of the same number of moles of the gas at standard condition, is.

= (3)

Thus;
22


= = (4)


ZSC = 1.0 for practical purposes, TSC = 520 R, and pSC = 14.65 psia.
Then;
3
= 0.0282 (5)

Also,

= 0.00502 (6)

Exercise 1: calculate a value of the formation volume factor of a dry gas with a specific gravity of
0.818 at reservoir temperature of 220 F and reservoir pressure of 2100 psiag?

Answer: (0.00138 res bbl/scf).

The Coefficient of Isothermal Compressibility of Gas:

The coefficient of isothermal compressibility is defined as the fraction change of volume as pressure
is changed at constant temperature. The defining equations are;
1 1 1
= ( ) = ( ) = ( ) (7)

Units are psi -1. The relationship between cg and reservoir pressure for a typical dry gas at constant
temperature is given in the figure below;

23
Example: The following table gives volumetric data at 150F for a natural gas. Determine the
coefficient of isothermal compressibility for this gas at 150F and 1000 psia?
Pressure, psia Molar Volume, cu ft/lb mole
700 8.5
800 7.4
900 6.5
1000 5.7
1100 5.0
1200 4.6
1300 4.2

Solution:
First, plot VM versus p and determine the slope of the line at 1000 psia, as shown in the figure below;

4.18 7.07
= = 0.00723
1200 800
Second, compute cg, recalling equation (7).
1
= ( )

1 0.00723
= ( ) = 0.0013 1 = 1300 106 1
5.7

24
In order for equation (7) to be useful it must be combined with an equation which relates volume and
pressure, so that one of these two variables can be eliminated. An equation of state can be used for
this purpose.

The Coefficient of Isothermal Compressibility of an Ideal Gas:

The simplest equation of state is that for ideal gases,
pV=nRT or V=nRT/p

Eliminating the term () in equation (7) by deriving the equation of state as following;

( ) = 2 (8)

Combining equations (7) and (8) gives;

1 1
= ( 2 ) = ( 2 )= (9)

It is recognized that the equation of state for an ideal gas doesnt describe adequately the behavior of
gases at temperatures and pressures normally encountered in petroleum reservoirs. However,
equation (9) does illustrate that we can expect the coefficient of isothermal compressibility of a gas
to be inversely proportional to pressure. Equation (9) can be used to determine the expected order or
magnitude of gas compressibility.
Exercise 2: estimate the coefficient of isothermal compressibility of a gas at 1700 psia. Assume that
the gas acts like an ideal gas?
Answer: (588 x 10-6 psi-1)

The Coefficient of Isothermal Compressibility of Real Gases:

The compressibility equation is the most commonly used equation of state in the petroleum industry.
We will combine this equation with the equation which defines the coefficient of isothermal
compressibility. Since Z-factor changes as pressure changes, it must be considered to be a variable.
V = ZnRT/p
Deriving this equation in the term of pressure yields;

( )

( ) = ( ) (10)
2

Recalling equation (7)

1
= ( )

25
Combining the three equations (7), (10), and equation of state yields;

( ) ( )
1 1 1
= ( ) = ( ) = ( ) (11)
2 2

For the special case of an ideal gas in which Z-factor is a constant equal to 1.0, the partial derivative
of Z-factor with respect to p is equal to zero, and equation (11) reduces to equation (9).

The partial derivative () is the slope of Z-factor plotted versus pressure at constant temperature.

The slopes of the isothermal of figures ((3-2), (3-3), and (3-4) in the reference text book) show that
the second term of equation (11) can be significantly large.
At low pressures, the Z-factor decreases as pressure increases; therefore, the partial derivative of Z-
factor with respect to p is negative, and cg is larger than in the case of an ideal gas. At high pressures,
however, Z-factor increase with pressure; the partial derivative of Z-factor with respect to p is
positive, and cg is less than in the case of an ideal gas.

Example: Compute the coefficient of isothermal compressibility of methane at 1000 psia and 68F?
Solution:
Z
First, use the data of figure ((3-2) in the reference text book) to determine Z and (p)
T

Z=0.89,
Z
(p) = 0.000106 1 = Slope of tangent to 68F isotherm @ p=1000 psia.
T

Second, calculate cg
1 1
= ()

1 1
= (0.000106) = 1120 106 1
1000 0.89

Pseudo Compressibility:
The law of corresponding state can be used to put equation (11) in to reduced form. In order to place
the partial derivative in to reduced form, we must rely on the chain rule.

( )=( )( ) (12)

1
= ( )= (13)

Combining the two equations yields;

26
 1
( ) = ( ) (14)

Substituting equation (14) and the equation in to equation (11) yields;

1 1
= ( ) (11)

1 1 1
= ( ( )) (15)

Multiplying both sides by ppc yields;

1 1
= = ( ) (16)

cpr = pseudo reduced compressibility.

cpr is a function of Z-factor and pseudo reduced pressure. Thus a graph relating Z-factor to pseudo
reduced pressure, figures ((3-7), (3-8), and (3-9) in the reference text book) can be used with equation
(16) to calculate values of cpr.
Example: Calculate the coefficient of isothermal compressibility of a dry gas given a specific gravity
0.818 @ reservoir temperature 220F and reservoir pressure 2100 psia?
Solution:
First, determine the pseudocritical temperature and pseudo critical pressure.
Tpc = 406 R, ppc = 647 psia (from figure (3-11) pp (119)).
Second, calculate pseudoreduced temperature and pressure.
Tpr = 1.68, ppr = 3.27

Third, determine Z and ( )

Z = 0.855

( ) = 1.68 3.27 = 0.0132

Forth, calculate cpr.

1 1
= ( )

1 1
= (0.0132) = 0.321
3.27 0.855
0.321
= = = 497 106 1
647

27
For engineering purposes the figure below (figure (6-4) pp (177) in the reference text book) can be
used to calculate cpr.

28
The Coefficient of Viscosity of Gas:
The coefficient of viscosity is a measure of the resistance to flow exerted by a fluid usually, viscosity
is given in unit of centipoise. A centipoise is a g mass/100 sec cm.

= 0.01 = = 1 103 = 1 103 . = 6.7197 104
100. . .
This viscosity term is called dynamic viscosity (), while the kinematic viscosity is defined as the
dynamic viscosity divided by the fluid density.

= , (17)

Usually, kinematic viscosity is given in centistoke. The centistoke is defined as centipoise divided
by density in gm/cc. Thus, the units of centistoke are cm2/100 sec.
Gas viscosity decreases as reservoir pressure decreases. The molecules are simply farther apart at
lower pressure and move past each other more easily. The relationship for a dry gas or wet gas is
given in the figure below;

Temperature decrease

Temperature increase

Typical shape of gas viscosity as a function of pressure at different temperatures

29
The figure also shows the effect of temperature on viscosity. At low pressures gas viscosity increases
as temperature increases. However, at high pressure gas viscosity decreases as temperature increases.
The reciprocal of viscosity is called the (Fluidity).
Experimental determination of gas viscosity is difficult. Usually, the petroleum engineer must rely
on viscosity correlations. We will look at correlations of gas viscosity data which apply to the gases
normally encountered in petroleum reservoir.

Viscosity of pure hydrocarbon gases:

The figure below may be used to obtain the viscosities of pure gases atmospheric pressure.

30
Viscosity of gas mixtures:
The following equation may be used to calculate the viscosity of a gas mixture when the composition
of the gas mixture is known and the viscosities of the components are known at the pressure and
temperature of interest.

1/2
= (18)
1/2

Example: calculate the viscosity of the gas mixture given below at 200F and a pressure of one
atmosphere absolute.
Component Composition, mole fraction
Methane 0.85
Ethane 0.09
Propane 0.04
n-Butane 0.02
1.00

Solution:
First, determine the viscosities of the individual gases at 200F and one atmosphere, from the figure
of viscosities of pure substances (figure (6-7) pp (180))
1 = 0.0130

2 = 0.0112

3 = 0.0098

4 = 0.0091

Second, calculate viscosity of the gas mixture.

Component yj MWj MWj1/2 yj MWj1/2 gj gj yj MWj1/2
C1 0.85 16.04 4.00 3.404 0.0130 0.0443
C2 0.09 30.07 5.48 0.494 0.0112 0.0055
C3 0.04 44.10 6.64 0.266 0.0098 0.0026
n-C4 0.02 58.12 7.62 0.152 0.0091 0.0014
1.00 yj MWj1/2=4.316 gj yj MWj1/2=0.0538

1/2 0.0538
= = = 0.0125
1/2 4.316

31
Carr ET. Al Correlation:
The Carr method is presented in the figures (A), (B), (C), (D), and (E) in the appendix, (Figures (6-
8), (6-9), (6-10), (6-11), and (6-12), pp (182-187) in the reference text book).
Figure (A) can be used to obtain viscosities of mixture of hydrocarbon gases at one atmosphere
pressure, also if the gas mixture was unknown. Insert plots show corrections to the value of
hydrocarbon viscosity which may be applied to take into account the effect of the presence of
hydrogen sulfide, nitrogen, or carbon dioxide. The effect of each of the nonhydrocarbon gases is to
increase the viscosity of the gas mixture.
At high pressures the value of gas viscosities will be obtained from the figures (B), (C), (D), and (E).
These figures give a viscosity ratio g/g1, which is multiplied by the viscosity at one atmosphere to
determine viscosity at high pressure.
Where these figures are function of Tpr, ppr, and specific gravity.
Figures (B) for specific gravity range (0.65-0.9).
Figure (C) for specific gravity range (0.9-1.2).
Figure (D) for specific gravity range (1.2-1.5).
Figure (E) for specific gravity range (1.5-1.7).
Example: calculate the viscosity of a dry gas with specific gravity 0.818 at reservoir temperature
220F and reservoir pressure 2100 psiag?
Solution:
First, determine a value of gas viscosity at one atmosphere.
MWg = (29) (0.818) = 23.7 lb/lb mole
From figure (A) g1 = 0.01216 cp @ 220F and one atm.
Second, determine a value of viscosity ratio
From (figure (3-11) pp (119) in the reference text book),
Tpc = 405R, and ppc = 646 psia, thus Tpr = 1.68 and ppr = 3.274
From figure (B) (figure (6-9) pp (184) in the reference text book);
g/g1 = 1.52, thus g = 0.0182 cp.

32
Imperial Equations to Calculate Gas Viscosity:
Lee ET. Al Correlation:
This method was obtained by analytical expression for viscosities of gases (Semi empirical) as in the
following equations;

= 104 (19)

Where;
(9.4 + 0.02) 1.5
= (20)
209 + 19 +
And,
986
= 3.5 + + 0.01 (21)

= 2.4 0.2 (22)
T= Temperature in Rankin, viscosity in cp, and density () in g/cc.

Heating Value:
The heating value of a gas is the quantity of heat produced when the gas is burned completely to
carbon dioxide and water. Heating value usually is expressed as British thermal units per standard
cubic foot of gas, BTU/scf.
The petroleum industry uses four adjectives to describe heating values: wet, dry, gross, and net.
When used with heating values, the words wet and dry refer to the condition of the gas prior to
combustion. Wet means that the gas is saturated with water, vapor, about 1.75 water vapors. And dry
means that the gas contains no water vapor. Sometimes the bone dry is used.
The gross and net refer to the condition of the water of combustion after burning take place.
Gross heating value is the heat produced in complete combustion under constant pressure with the
combustion products cooled to standard conditions and the water in the combustion products
condensed to the liquid state. This quantity also is called total heating value. Net heating value is
defined similarly, except the water of combustion remains vapor at standard conditions. The
difference between net and gross heating values is the heat of vaporization of the water of combustion.
The heating value of an ideal gas is calculated as follows;

= (23)

Equation (23) can be used for both gross and net heating value.
For real gases the values must be converted from Ideal case to real case at standard conditions.

= (24)

33
Compressibility factor at standard conditions may be calculated using Z-factors tabulated in the table
of gases properties (appendix A pp (492) in the reference text book).
2

= 1 ( 1 ) (25)

Net heating value (dry) may be converted into net heating value (wet) by
() = (1 0.0175) () (26)

Where 0.0175 is the mole fraction of water vapor in gas when saturated at standard conditions. Gross
heating value (dry) may be converted into gross heating value (wet) by
() = (1 0.0175) () + 0.9 (27)

Where 0.9 accounts for the heat released in (BTU/scf) during condensation of the water vapor which
was in the gas prior to combustion.
Example: Calculate the gross heating value of a separator gas of composition given below,
Component Composition, mole fraction
Carbon dioxide 0.0167
Nitrogen 0.0032
Methane 0.8102
Ethane 0.1574
Propane 0.0132
1.0000
Solution:
First, calculate gross heating value of ideal gas and compressibility factor of the gas at standard
conditions.

Mole Fraction Gross Heating Compressibility Factor @

Value, Standard Conditions
BTU/scf
Component yj Lcj yj Lcj Zj yj1
CO2 0.0167 0 0 0.9943 0.001261
N2 0.0032 0 0 0.9997 0.00006
C1 0.8102 1010 818.302 0.9980 0.036233
C2 0.1574 1769.6 278.535 0.9919 0.014166
C3 0.0132 2516.1 33.21252 0.9825 0.001746
Totals 1.0000 1130.05 0.053462

Z = 1 - (0.053462)2 = 0.9972
Second, calculate gross heating value of the gas as a real gas.
1130.05
= = = 1133.3 /
0.9972

34