If a gas stream contains sufficient valuable liquid hydrocarbons, they 

 are recovered and sold separately. A fractionation facility is needed to 

 separate the recovered liquid hydrocarbons into commercial products such 

 as gasoline and propane. The fractionation facility may be located at the 

 gas plant or at another site connected by pipelines. 



3.9.2 Site Requirements 



Major factors considered in siting a gas processing plant are the 

 advantages of a coastal location, and the plant's high demands for water 

 and energy. A gas processing plant must be sited between the gas pipeline 

 landfall and a commercial gas transmission line. Gas plants are normally 

 sited as close as possible to the landfall, mainly because of the need to 

 separate heavier hydrocarbons from the gas stream as quickly as possible 

 to minimize plugging or fouling of the pipeline. Thus, gas plants have 

 been primarily located in the coastal zone; however, they are not water- 

 front dependent and they can easily be located back from the shoreline 

 for ecological or other reasons. 



A typical gas processing plant, of 1 BCFD capacity, requires 50 to 

 75 acres of level, well -drained land. The amount of land required for 

 the basic gas plant layout is related generally to the volume of gas to be 

 processed. The actual area needed for gas processing and storage is 

 typically small, while that reserved for a buffer zone and plant expansion 

 is usually large. A typical plant occupying 75 acres would probably 

 utilize only 20 acres for process structures and other buildings [7]. 



The availability of cooling water may limit the size of a gas process- 

 ing plant that can be built on a site. Water needs vary depending 

 primarily on the type of cooling system. Air cooling systems require 

 less water than water cooling systems. Water demands may range from 

 insignificant quantities to 750,000 GPD; a typical plant uses 

 approximately 200,000 GPD. A 500 MMCFD capacity gas plant with closed 

 cycle cooling probably would require about 15,000 GPD of makeup 

 water [12]. 



Electric energy requirements are high enough to be a limiting 

 factor in certain situations. A 1 BCFD capacity gas plant would use 

 5.4 million kwh/month of electric power. This plant would also use 

 360 MMCF/month of natural gas from its feedstock to fuel heaters and 

 compressors. 



Rail, truck, barge, and pipeline transport are used for gas plant 

 products. The mode of transportation required is specific to each plant, 

 depending on location of markets, types of products, and available 

 transportation systems. 



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