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Compressibility

Z factor Gas Compressibility

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36 views

Compressibility

Z factor Gas Compressibility

Uploaded by

Anonymous bHh1L1
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Compressibility

The compressibility factor Z is a dimensionless factor inde- Hence


pendent of the quantity of gas and determined by the char-
acter of the gas, the temperature, and pressure (see Table for 1 Vg 1 dz 1
meaning of symbols):
Vg p T
z dp p
Z = PV/NRT + MPV/mRT
A knowledge of the compressibility factor means that the For gases at low pressures the second term is small
density, ρ, is also known from the relationship: and the compressibility can be approximated by cg ≈ 1/p.
ρ = PM/ZRT Equation 2 is not particularly convenient for determining
the gas compressibility because z is not actually a function
The isothermal gas compressibility, which is given the of p but of pr. However, equation 2 can be made convenient
symbol cg, is a useful concept which will be used extensively in terms of a dimensionless pseudo-reduced gas compress-
in determining the compressible properties of the reser- ibility defined as:
voir. The isothermal compressibility is also called the bulk
modulus of elasticity. Gas usually is the most compressible cr = cgppc
medium in the reservoir. However, care should be taken so Multiplying equation 2 through by the pseudo-critical
that it not be confused with the gas deviation factor, z, which pressure,
is sometimes called the super-compressibility factor.
The isothermal gas compressibility is defined as: 1 1 z
cr c g p pc
pr z pr Tr
1 Vg
cg
Vg p T
The expression for calculating the pseudo-reduced com-
pressibility is:
An expression in terms of z and p for the compressibility
can be derived from the real gas law:
1 0.27 ( z/ r )Tr
cr
Vg nRT z znRT ’
znR T 1 dz ’
znR T 1 pr z 2Tr r z
1
p T
p p T
p2 p z dp p p z r Tr

There is also a close relationship between the formation


From the real gas equation of state: volume factor of gas and the isothermal gas compressibility.
It can be easily shown that:
1 p 1 Bg
cg
Vg znRT Bg p T

151
152 Rules of Thumb for Petroleum Engineers

Table symbols used in determining the compressibility factor.


Field units SI units
P = absolute pressure psia kPa
V = volume ft3 m3
n = moles m/M m/M
m = mass lb kg
M = molecular mass lb/lb mole kg/kmole
T = absolute temperature °R K
R = universal gas constant 10 73 [psia ft /°R • lb mole mole]
3
8.3145 [kPa m3/kmol • K]
ρ = density slug/ft3
kg/m3

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