Contaminants
The measurement and prediction of contaminants is important as these can lower the value of the reserves and require additional processes to remove them. There are many types of contaminants:
Inert diluents (nitrogen, argon, helium),
Odour causing (sulphides, disulfides, thiophenes, thiols (mercaptans)
Corrosive (Hydrogen sulphide, thiols (mercaptans), carbon dioxide, brine and mercury (with aluminium)
Toxic (carbonyl sulphide, trimethlyarsine, hydrogen sulphide, thiols, methyl mercury, elemental mercury)
Blockage causing (asphaltenes, wax, hydrates, elemental sulphur)
When measuring contaminants, it is important to choose the correct methodology and also to understand the context of where the measured stream fits in the production process. This requires careful modelling of the contaminant partitioning between the separate phases which occur during processing.
Case studies
Determination of Contaminant Distributions from Gravitational Equilibrium