In charge of Prof. Stefania Moioli

The course will focus on the value chain of natural gas and of the energy carriers that can ensure stable and affordable energy supplies, providing universal energy access and enabling robust economic growth while transitioning to a net zero energy system by 2050.

The first part of the course will analyze all the relevant topics related to the production, the processes for treatment and the transportation of natural gas, which is widely employed nowadays and compatible with the needs of the transition towards renewables because of its abundance, environmental cleanliness and ease of use. Then, in the second part of the course, taking as a reference the natural gas, the value chains of the most relevant energy carriers promoted as long-term solutions for the challenge of substituting fossil fuels will be analyzed and compared to the natural gas one.

 

The course is based on lectures and on development and discussion of real-life case studies, taught in innovative teaching mode in collaboration with experts from Saipem.

In the main part of the course, all the key technical aspects in the gas production and transportation value chain will be covered:

  • Key players: gas companies, oilfield service providers, EPC general contractors, gas transportation players;
  • Gas supply and demand: growth prospects; role of gas in overall global energy picture; conventional and unconventional reserves; natural gas liquids and associated gas, energy transition;
  • Gas production technologies: from traditional gas fields onshore to offshore; emphasis on fracking to produce shale gas; gas from offshore fields; deepwater exploitation and associate subsea production technologies; challenges of Arctic fields current permitting scenarios;
  • Design of gas purification processes: acid gas removal technologies (amine washing, physical absorption, PSA, membranes); conventional CO2 removal processes vs. cryogenic ones; treatment of ultra sour gas, handling and valorization of gas fields by-products, dehydration, mercury removal and Natural Gas Liquids (NGL) recovery;
  • Transportation and storage: key design criteria and challenges in gas transportation via long-distance pipelines, onshore and offshore; LNG (Liquefied Natural Gas) value chain, liquefaction processes and technologies, specialized LNG vessels and carriers, regasification terminals, onshore and offshore;
  • Gas applications for energy: power production, pivotal role in balancing electric grids with power generation also from renewable sources; domestic and industrial gas usage; direct use of LNG or CNG (Compressed Natural Gas) as clean fuels in automotive and marine transportation;
  • Biogas as a peculiar natural gas: biogas characteristics; biogas cleaning and upgrading; biomethane distribution through the existing gas grids, LBG production.

Then, taking natural gas as a reference, a general description of the value chain of the most relevant energy carriers (hydrogen, ammonia, methanol, liquid organic hydrogen carriers), possible substitute of natural gas on the long-term, will be carried out and a comparison with the natural gas value chain will be performed.

Exercises will focus on case studies in accordance with Saipem. The simulation software (ASPEN HYSYS®), commonly employed by engineering companies, will be used to solve flowsheets, by simulation of the process and related analyses.

 

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