Energy recovery at natural gas pressure reduction stations

The energy need of our world increases day by day, but it is seen that the resources are decreasing. For this reason, we need to use our energy more efficiently in every field. This is inevitable, especially for our country, which provides the majority of its energy needs as imported. It is essential to examine all stages of energy consumption to study efficiency and recovery. The amount of natural gas usage in the world and our country is increasing over the years. Natural gas, which is consumed in many areas, enters our country through the national distribution network. Natural gas transported with high pressure is reduced to the desired pressure value for consumers with pressure reduction and measurement stations. In these stations, natural gas is filtered, heated before pressure drop, flow rate measured, and pressure reduced. Gas pressure is reduced by throttling. Meanwhile, sudden drops in the temperature of the gas are observed due to the Joule-Thomson effect. This undesirable situation can damage the pilot controlled regulator due to freezing of the water vapor contained in the gas and the formation of hydrate. Natural gas is heated before it enters the regulator to prevent this. In studies on energy recovery in natural gas stations, it is recommended to use vortex pilot gas heaters in the station to reduce the cost of this preheating process. In this study, the advantages of using a vortex tube and its effect on cost have been examined through a station in Ankara. Using the data of this station for the years 2016-2019, preheating fuel consumption before and after the use of the vortex tube was calculated, and the consumption amounts were compared. In addition, artificial neural network modeling has been made in the study. After completing the training of the model with the data for the specified years, a test was carried out on a monthly value of 2020. Thus, the effectiveness of the vortex tube application in energy recovery was supported, and a resource was provided to other stations to calculate the savings they would achieve if they used a vortex tube.