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Why can cooling and compressing natural gas cause water to condense?
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natural gas
The Troll A natural gas production platform in the North Sea, 80 km (50 miles) northwest of Bergen, Norway. Troll A, the largest movable structure ever built, rests on the seafloor some 300 metres (990 feet) below the surface and rises more than 100 metres (330 feet) above the sea. The platform regulates the recovery of gas from 40 wells located on the seafloor.
When natural gas is processed, it is subjected to compression and cooling to remove impurities, including water vapor. As the pressure of the gas increases and its temperature decreases, the gas reaches its dew point with respect to water.1
At this point, the water vapor present in the gas stream undergoes a phase change and condenses into liquid water. This process is a necessary step in field processing to prevent the formation of icelike gas hydrates, which can obstruct transportation and processing equipment. While the exact molecular mechanics of condensation remain a complex subject in physics, it is a standard thermodynamic response when a substance is cooled below its critical temperature and subjected to sufficient pressure.123