A Survey of Trace Contaminants in Natural Gas Liquids

摘要

A survey of selected contaminants in natural gas liquids (NGL's) has been completed for the purpose of determining whether more stringent NGL specifications should be considered by the industry. The survey involved the analysis of over 45 samples from 8 independent processors. the trace contaminants that were analyzed include olefins, oxygenated compounds, fluoride, mercury, and arsenic. Not surprisingly, the highest levels of olefins were found in the corresponding hydrocarbon streams, (i.e., propylene in the propane streams). The highest levels of oxygenated compounds were found in the propane and raw make streams. The highest fluoride levels were found in the gasoline samples. And finally, for the most part, the mercury and arsenic levels were too close to the detection limits for these samples (approx 10 ppb for mercury and approx 50 ppb for arsenic) to be able to accurately determine if these contaminants were present in any of the samples. A more exhaustive study would be needed to analyze for these components below these levels.