A high-pressure bubbling sampler has been developed to trap and preconcentrate metals and metalloids from natural gas. This high-pressure sampler was designed to work at pressures up to 100 bar and be directly plugged into distribution and transportation networks. It consists of three vials in series, which contain 50 mL of metal trapping solution and the gas flows at the network pressure with a flow rate up to 40 L/min. The trapping solutions for mercury and other metals are permanganate/ sulfuric acid or nitric acid/hydrogen peroxide according to standards EN 13211 and EN 14385. The sampler design, development, and validation steps are presented in this work. First, the trapping vials were tested in the laboratory, where argon gas was spiked with mercury at two different pressures that represented the distribution and transportation networks. The results show that more than 96% of the metal was trapped from the gas phase into the solution for both tested pressures. Moreover, more than 90% of the trapped metal was found in the first vial, which shows the good efficiency of the traps. Finally, the highpressure bubbling sampler was tested in three field campaigns of natural gas sampling from a transportation network at 60 bar. Each sampling was performed for 5 days with a flow rate of 20 L/min, which makes a total volume of 140 Nm 3 of sampled gas. The gas flowed through three vials of 50 mL, which makes a final preconcentration factor of 3 × 10 6 . The trapping solutions were analyzed for trace metal concentrations using inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry. The concentrations were 10 −1 ng/ Nm 3 for barium, from 10 −1 to 5 ng/Nm 3 for tin, from 0.9 to 10 ng/Nm 3 for arsenic and copper, and from 1 to 10 1 ng/Nm 3 for aluminum, selenium, and zinc. The efficiency of the traps and the low measured concentrations make this high-pressure bubbling sampler a useful tool for trace element analyses in natural gas.
Biogases are a renewable energy source intended to facilitate the energy transition from natural gas in various domains such as heat and electricity production. The composition of biogas and biomethane is well-known in terms of major compounds, which include methane, carbon dioxide, and hydrogen sulfide. However, the trace element composition of these gases is poorly documented. For the first time, trace metal composition of biomethane produced from agricultural waste and biogas generated at a nonhazardous waste landfill and intended to produce electricity by cogeneration is presented in this work and is compared to the trace metal composition of natural gas. A dedicated high-pressure bubbling sampler was used to sample gas at different operating pressures ranging from 1 to 40 bar. Multiple wide-ranging screenings of metals and metalloids were conducted regarding the elements Se, Cd, Ni, Sb, As, Zn, Pb, Sn, Cr, Ba, Al, V, Mo, Cu, and Ag. The metal concentrations in the sampled natural gas and biomethane were found to be at the same order of magnitude and ranged from 10 −1 to 10 2 ng/N m 3 , although some differences in the details were observed. Compared with the metals in those two gases, the metals in the biogas were at higher concentrations, ranging from 1 to 10 3 ng/N m 3 .
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.
hi@scite.ai
10624 S. Eastern Ave., Ste. A-614
Henderson, NV 89052, USA
Copyright © 2024 scite LLC. All rights reserved.
Made with 💙 for researchers
Part of the Research Solutions Family.