Increasing energy efficiency of air cooler in associated petroleum gas disposal in oilfields

Abstract

Associated petroleum gas (APG) is one of the most important raw materials for industrial petrochemistry. APG burning is accompanied by the release of large volumes of harmful substances into the atmosphere, which leads to the environmental degradation, destruction of non-renewable natural resources, and contributes to the development of negative planetary processes that have an extremely negative impact on the global climate. One of the priority tasks in solving the problem of APG utilization is its cooling, which leads to decreasing gas viscosity, reducing wear of equipment, less hydraulic losses, and the greater operation speed and productivity of the pipeline. Air coolers of gas (ACG) are heat exchangers, whose purpose is condensation of liquid and gaseous media, as well as gas cooling. The advantages of using ACG are saving the cooling water and reducing the waste water, as well as decreasing the labor costs for cleaning ACG. There have been considered the types of ACG and their features. In order to optimize and improve the energy efficiency of the associated gas air cooler, a unit was proposed for cleaning the finned surface of the air cooler heat exchange tubes by using hydraulic nozzles with a full spray cone and by spraying the ACG to increase efficiency. The proposed method will make it possible to safely transfer the gas through main pipelines, maintain the correct pressure inside the reservoir during underground injection, and also lead to the least equipment wear.