Natural gas is one of the most popular forms of energy today. It is a colorless, odorless fossil fuel that is environmentally friendly relative to other fuel sources. Methane is the major component of natural gas, which is used in heating, cooling, production of electricity, and many other uses such as the reforming process to manufacture fertilizer. Natural gas is found by drilling into the earth's crust where pockets were trapped thousands of years ago. Once the gas is brought to the surface, it must be processed to remove impurities such as liquids (water, heavier hydrocarbons), sand, other gasses like carbon dioxide, hydrogen sulfide, butane, propane, ethane, etc. The removal of these impurities occurs in what is known as the Gas Processing Industry using various techniques to produce what we know as Natural Gas. The final product is transported throughout the country using large pipelines to large industry, small businesses, and residential customers.
             Initial Stages – Physical Separation
             The natural gas processing industry begins with the separation of the bulk liquids from the gas streams. While the devices that perform these tasks can get complicated they all work on basic principles. Generally, the industry refers to these devices as either "separators or scrubbers" and they are simply large vessels that are designed to slow the fluid velocity and allow gravity to cause liquid droplets to fall. In addition these vessels provide enough space to allow the gas to separate from the liquid and a means for the gas stream and liquid streams to exit separately. Often they are built to separate three phases, two liquid (water & hydrocarbons) and gas by using a boot on the bottom or and intermediate exit point created using a pipe extension or side exit point. At the gas outlet, most of these devices use a mist eliminator to remove small fine droplets. Most mist eliminators look similar to a block of steel wool and provide a s...