Oil & Gas Glossary 1.0

2. to recover liquid hydrocarbons from natural or refinery gas in a gas-absorption plant. The wet gas enters the absorber at the bottom and rises to the top, encountering a stream of absorption oil (a light oil) traveling downward over bubble-cap trays, valve trays, or sieve trays. The light oil removes, or absorbs, the heavier liquid hydrocarbons from the wet gas.

Also called absorption oil. See absorption oil.

A plant that processes natural gas with absorption oil

1.To take in or make part of an existing whole.

3. to soak up as a sponge takes water.

A hydrocarbon liquid used to absorb and recover components from natural gas before being processed.

The process of sucking up; taking in and making part of an existing whole. Compare adsorption.

The separation of a molecule into two or more fragments (atoms, ions) by interaction with another body or by the absorption of electromagnetic radiation.

3. a column wherein absorbed constituents are stripped from absorption off. The term is applicable to columns using a stripping medium, such as steam or gas.

The liquefaction of a solid substance due to the solution of the solid by absorption of moisture from the air.

A vertical, cylindrical vessel that recovers heavier hydrocarbons from a mixture of predominantly lighter hydrocarbons. Also called absorption tower. See absorb.

Also called absorber. See absorber.

The gasoline extracted from natural gas by putting the gas into contact with oil in a vessel and subsequently distilling the gasoline from the heavier oil.

The maximum volume of natural gas that can be processed through an absorber at a specified absorption oil rate, temperature, and pressure without exceeding pressure drop or any other operating limitation.

A mechanical refrigeration system in which the refrigerant is absorbed by a suitable liquid or solid. The most commonly used refrigerant is ammonia; the most commonly used absorbing medium is water.

A method of improved oil recovery in which chemicals dissolved in water are pumped into a reservoir through injection wells to mobilize off left behind after primary or secondary recovery and to move it toward production wells. The chemical solution includes surfactants or surfactant-forming chemicals that reduce the interfacial and capillary forces between oil and water, releasing the oil and carrying it out of the pores where it has been trapped. The solution may also contain cosurfactants to match the viscosity of the solution to that of the oil to stabilize the solution and to prevent its absorption by reservoir rock. An electrolyte is often added to aid in adjusting viscosity. Injection of the chemical solution is followed by a slug of water thickened with a polymer, which pushes the released oil through the reservoir, decreases the effective permeability of established channels so that new channels are opened, and serves as a mobility buffer between the chemical solution and the final injection of water.