In this post I want to share how to estimate gas specific gravity.
What is gas specific gravity?
Gas specific gravity refers to the ratio between the density of a gas and the density of air at standard conditions (1 atm pressure and 60°F). When assuming ideal gas law behaviour, it equals the molecular weight of the gas divided by that of air.
What is the importance of gas specific gravity data?
Gas specific gravity data is frequently utilized in chemical engineering design processes. For example, gas specific gravity data is used to:
- Predict natural gas hydrate formation temperature
- Design oil and gas equipment
- Assess the expected behaviour of gas when a leak occurs in the pipeline.
- Etc
How to Estimate Gas Specific Gravity?
Specific gravity is defined as the ratio of the mass of a given volume of gas to that of an equal volume of air, with both volumes measured at 14.7 psia and 60°F (1.01 bar and 15.6°C). For ideal gases, specific gravity is calculated by dividing the molar mass of the gas by the molar mass of air (28.96).
The equation used to estimate gas specific gravity for ideal gas:
I hope you find simple post useful!
References:
- Hidnay, J. Arthur and William R. Parrish. (2006). Fundamentals of Natural Gas Processing. CRC Press