Definitions

Definitions of Words and Terms Used in the Gas Processing Industry

absorber
A tower or column that provides contact between natural gas being processed and a liquid solvent.
absorption
The operation in which one or more components in the gas phase are transferred to (absorbed into) a liquid solvent.
acid gas

The hydrogen sulfide and/or carbon dioxide contained in, or extracted from, gas or other streams.
adsorbent
A solid substance used to remove components from natural gas being processed.
adsorption
The process by which gaseous components are adsorbed on solids because of their molecular attraction to the solid surface.

GAS INTRO

History of Natural Gas

Although naturally occurring gas has been known since ancient times, its commercial use is relatively recent. In about 1000, B.C., the famous Oracle at Delphi, on Mount Parnassus in ancient Greece, was built where natural gas seeped from the ground in a flame. Around 500 B.C., the Chinese started using crude bamboo “pipelines” to transport gas that seeped to the surface and to use it to boil sea water to get drinkable water.

OIL INTRO

The History of Petroleum

OIL PRODUCTION

Various theories have been advanced over the years as to the origin of petroleum proposing an animal, vegetable, mineral and even meteoric origin. Today, however, most scientists believe that oil and gas originated in plant and animal matter that accumulated in fine grained sediments at the bottom of ancient seas many millions of years ago. This theory suggests that oil originated as the remains of countless organisms that either lived in the sea or were deposited there with mud and silt from prehistoric rivers and streams.