Natural gas storage cycles: Influence of nonisothermal effects and heavy alkanes

A mathematical model is developed for examining the influence of nonisothermal effects and accumulation of heavy alkanes on natural gas storage cycles. The model is solved for the charge and discharge steps of the cycle. This is the first study to solve the natural gas storage problem for a nonisothermal charge of natural gas containing impurities. We examine both adiabatic and isothermal operation of natural gas and pure methane storage cycles on BPL carbon and an activated carbon prepared from coconut shells. Our simulations show for both carbons that the adiabatic gas storage cycles operate under subcooled conditions with respect to the feed temperature due to long discharge times and the desorption heat. It is also shown that degradation of gas storage performance due to impurities depends more on selectivity of the material for heavy alkanes than on adsorption capacities.