See

discussions, stats, and author profiles for this publication at: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/222757975

An efficient correlation for calculating

compressibility factor of natural gases

Article in Journal of Natural Gas Chemistry · November 2010

DOI: 10.1016/S1003-9953(09)60081-5

CITATIONS READS

34 1,145

3 authors, including:

Navid Azizi Reza Mosayebi Behbahani

Iran University of Science and Technology Petroleum University of Technology
15 PUBLICATIONS 65 CITATIONS 59 PUBLICATIONS 268 CITATIONS

SEE PROFILE SEE PROFILE

Some of the authors of this publication are also working on these related projects:

Gas Separation Membrane View project

Oil/Gas Flow Assurance View project

All content following this page was uploaded by Navid Azizi on 19 December 2016.

The user has requested enhancement of the downloaded file.

 Journal of Natural Gas Chemistry 19(2010)642–645

An efficient correlation for calculating compressibility

factor of natural gases
Navid Azizi∗ , R. Behbahani, M. A. Isazadeh
Gas Engineering Department, Petroleum University of Technology, Ahwaz, Iran
[ Manuscript received November 9, 2009; revised January 11, 2010 ]

Abstract
Compressibility factor (z-factor) values of natural gases are necessary in most petroleum engineering calculations. Necessity arises when there
are few available experimental data for the required composition, pressure and temperature conditions. One of the most common methods of
calculating z-factor values is empirical correlation. Firstly, a new correlation based on the famous Standing-Katz (S-K) Chart is presented to
predict z-factor values. The advantage of this correlation is that it is explicit in z and thus does not require an iterative solution as is required by
other methods. Secondly, the comparison between new one and other correlations is carried out and the results indicate the superiority of the
new correlation over the other correlations used to calculate z-factor.
Key words
natural gas; compressibility factor; explicit correlation

1. Introduction occupied by a gas at a given pressure and temperature to the

Compressibility factor (z-factor) values of natural gases
are necessary in most petroleum engineering calculations.
The most common sources of z-factor values are experimen-
tal measurements, equations of state method and empirical
correlations. Necessity arises when there are few available
experimental data for the required composition, pressure and
temperature conditions. The reasons for unavailability of ex-
perimental data are that it is hard to determine experimen-
tally measured z-factor values for all compositions of gases on
the whole ranges of pressures and temperatures and also that
method is expensive and most of the time these measurements
are gotten at reservoir temperatures only. What is presented
here is a correlation based on the famous Standing-Katz (S-
K) Chart to predict z-factor values.
The volume of a real gas is usually less than that of the
ideal gas, and hence a real gas is said to be supercompress-
ible. The ratio of the real volume to the ideal volume, which
is a measure of the amount the gas deviating from perfect be-
havior, is called the supercompressibility factor, sometimes
shortened to the compressibility factor. It is also called the
gas deviation factor and is denoted as the symbol z. The gas
deviation factor is defined by the ratio of the volume actually
volume it would occupy if it behaved ideally.
Va Actual volume of n moles gas at T and P
z= =
Vi Ideal volume of n moles gas at same T and P
The real gas equation of state is then written as:
P V = nzRT
where, P is the pressure, V is the volume, T is the absolute
temperature, z is the compressibility factor, n is the number
of kilo-moles of the gas, and R is the gas constant. The gas
deviation factor, z, is close to 1 at low pressure and high tem-
perature, which means that the gas behaves like an ideal gas
in these conditions. At standard or atmospheric conditions the
gas z factor is always approximately 1. Compressibility fac-
tor of natural gases is necessary in most petroleum and nat-
ural gas engineering calculations. Some of these calculations
are gas metering, gas compression, design of processing units,
and design of pipeline and surface facilities. Compressibility
factor of natural gases is also important in the calculation of
gas flow rate through reservoir rock, material balance calcula-
tions, evaluation of gas reserves, and reservoir simulations.

∗ Corresponding author. Tel: +98-711-6220290; Cell: +98-917-7174932; E-mail: zei.nav2006@gmail.com

This work has been financed by the National Iranian Gas Company through the Gas Research Center of Ahwaz Petroleum University of Technology.

Copyright©2010, Dalian Institute of Chemical Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences. All rights reserved.
doi:10.1016/S1003-9953(09)60081-5
 Journal of Natural Gas Chemistry Vol. 19 No. 6 2010
1.1. Methods of z-factor calculating
1.1.1. Equations of state methods
Cubic equations of state (EOS’s) are simple equations
relating pressure, volume, and temperature (PVT). They ac-
curately describe the volumetric and phase behavior of pure
compounds and mixtures, requiring only critical properties
and acentric factor of each component. The same equa-
tion is used to calculate the properties of all phases, thereby
ensuring consistency in reservoir processes that approach
critical conditions. Multiple phase behavior, such as low-
temperature CO2 flooding, can be treated with an EOS, and
even water/hydrocarbon-phase behavior can be predicted ac-
curately with a cubic EOS.
Volumetric behavior is calculated by solving the simple
cubic equation, usually expressed in terms of z = P V /nRT :
z 3 + A1 z 2 + A2 z + A3 = 0
where, constants A1 , A2 and A3 are functions of pressure,
temperature and phase composition.
The critical properties, acentric factor, molecular weight,
and binary-interaction parameters (BIP’s) of components in
mixture are required for EOS calculations. With the exist-
ing chemical-separation techniques, we usually cannot iden-
tify the many hundreds and thousands of components found
in reservoir fluids. Another problem with the existing EOS
and other methods of predicting EOS parameters is that they
cannot predict properties of components heavier than approx-
imately C20 .
1.1.2. Empirical correlations methods
Several different correlations are available for this impor-
tant parameter. The basic correlations use the correspond-
ing states concept [1]. The theory of Corresponding States
proposes that all gases will exhibit the same behavior, e.g.
z-factor, when viewed in terms of reduced pressure, reduced
volume, and reduced temperature. Mathematically, this prin-
ciple can be defined as:
z = f (T r , P r )
By definition
T P
Tr = &P r =
Tc Pc
where, P r and T r are reduced pressure and reduced tempera-
ture, respectively, and P c and T c are critical pressure and crit-
ical temperature of the gas, respectively. The values of critical
pressure and critical temperature can be estimated from the
mixing rules such as Kay’s rule, SBV’s rule [2] and Sutton
643
mixing rule [3] if the composition of the gas and the criti-
cal properties of the individual components are known. Oth-
erwise, the pseudo critical temperature and pressure may be
estimated using correlations based on gas specific gravity.
2. History of the z-factor correlations
Probably the most widely accepted correlation for natu-
ral gas mixtures is the Standing-Katz (S-K) z-factor chart [4].
The S-K chart was developed using data for binary mixtures of
methane with propane, ethane, butane, and natural gases hav-
ing a wide range of composition. None of the gas mixtures had
molecular weights in excess of 40. The S-K chart is actually
a modification and extension of a generalized z-factor chart
developed by Brown and Holcomb [5,6] (BH) and is identical
to the BH chart at reduced pressures less than 4. Above this
value, the BH chart was found to be consistently inaccurate;
therefore, Standing and Katz used data from 16 natural gas
mixtures, along with methane z-factors as a guide, to extend
the chart to reduced pressures of 15. Since the S-K chart ap-
peared in the literature in 1941, several correlations have been
developed which effectively reproduce and extend the chart.
This chart correlates z-factor as a function of pseudo reduced
pressure and temperature.
2.1. Compressibility-factor correlations
For years, engineers have used empirical correlations in-
stead of the existing tables and charts for determining the gas
compressibility factor. The effective use of the correlations,
however, lies in an understanding of the way they were derived
and the knowledge of their limitations. This section presents
a review of several widely used correlations. The correlations
are divided into two groups: direct and iterative relations. Sev-
eral widely used correlations are:
2.1.1. Direct relations
1) Papp Correlation [7]
2) Shell Oil Company Correlation [8]
3) Beggs and Brill Correlation [9]
2.1.2. Iterative relations
1) Hall-Yarborough Correlation [10]
2) Dranchuk-Abu-Kassem Correlation [11]
3. New proposed correlation
This correlation is based on 3038 points from the Stand-
ing and Katz z-factor chart.
B+C
z = A+ (1)
D+E
644 Navid Azizi et al./ Journal of Natural Gas Chemistry Vol. 19 No. 6 2010

where, Table 1. Tuned coefficients used in above Equations

Coefficient Tuned coefficients Coefficient Tuned coefficients
2.16 1.028 1.58 −2.1 −0.5 a 0.0373142485385592 k −24449114791.1531
A = aT r + bP r + cP r Tr + d [ln (T r)] (2)
b −0.0140807151485369 l 19357955749.3274
c 0.0163263245387186 m −126354717916.607
B = e + f T r2.4 + gP r 1.56 + hP r 0.124 T r 3.033 (3) d −0.0307776478819813 n 623705678.385784
e 13843575480.943800 o 17997651104.3330
C = i[ln (T r)] −1.28 + j [ln (T r)]1.37 + kln(P r )+ f −16799138540.763700 p 151211393445.064
(4)
l [ln (P r)] 2 + mln(P r )ln(T r ) g 1624178942.6497600 q 139474437997.172
h 13702270281.086900 r −24233012984.0950
D = 1 + nT r5.55 + oP r 0.68 T r 0.33 (5) i −41645509.896474600 s 18938047327.5205
j 237249967625.01300 t −141401620722.689
E = p [ln (T r)]1.18 + q [ln (T r)] 2.1 + rln(P r )+
(6) Table 2. Statistical accuracy of z-factor correlation (3038 data points)
s [ln (P r)] 2 + tln(P r )ln(T r )
Er Ea ERMS R2
The tuned coefficients in Equations (1)–(6) are given in This study 3.5×10−5 0.00323 0.00497 0.99965
Table 1. In order to calculate these coefficients, curve fitting Dranchuk-Abu Kassem 0.00288 0.00378 0.00761 0.99943
software is utilized. Equation (1) has been presented to esti- Hall & Yarborogh 0.00147 0.00365 0.00853 0.99942
mate the sweet gases compressibility factor over the range of Shell Oil Co. −0.00044 0.00712 0.01196 0.99785
Beggs & Brill −0.01734 0.02118 0.02531 0.98187
0.2  P r  11 (217 P r values) & 1.1  T r  2 (14 T r values).
Papp 0.00758 0.01547 0.04124 0.98036
The new z-factor correlation presented in this study has
smaller error range than that of the other correlations. Among
the z-factor correlations considered in this study, the new cor- Figure 1 shows the increased accuracy in calculated
relation shows the smallest average absolute error and the z-factor as a result of using new proposed correlation as op-
highest coefficient of determination R2 . The error calcula- posed to the results obtained from using Beggs & Brill, Shell
tions for this equation are reported in Table 2. Oil Co. and Papp correlations.

Figure 1. Predicted z-factor data by different correlations vs. measured z-factor data
 Journal of Natural Gas Chemistry Vol. 19 No. 6 2010 645

4. Case study
In this case example, the z-factor data for a gas sample
with the following properties and conditions are calculated by
different methods (see Table 3). Finally these predicted data
are compared with experimental z-factor data (see Table 4)
and the results are shown in Figure 2.
required by other methods. The accuracy of the proposed gas
compressibility factor correlation was compared with other
correlations. The comparison indicates the superiority of the
new correlation over the other correlations used to calculate
compressibility factor of natural gases.
Acknowledgements
The lead author would like to thank Dr. Isazadeh and Dr. Be-
hbahani for their help during the undertaking of this project. Finally,
the authors would like to thank Mr. Sharifi for his inspiring idea
which led to development of this correlation. This work has been
financed by the National Iranian Gas Company through the Gas Re-
search Center of Ahwaz Petroleum University of Technology. The
financial support is gratefully acknowledged and appreciated.

Nomenclature
Ea Average absolute percent error
Er Average percent error
ERMS Root mean square error
N Number of kilomoles of the gas
P Pressure, kPa
Pc Critical pressure, kPa
Ppr Pseudo-reduced pressure
Figure 2. Measured and predicted compressibility factor for the gas sample
Pr Reduced pressure
While a good estimation of pseudo critical pressure and R Gas constant, J/(mol·K)
pseudo critical temperature will lead to correct estimation of R2 Coefficient of determination
z-factor data, Tpc and Ppc for all correlations are calculated by SD Standard deviation
an exact mixing rule which was proposed by Elsharkawy [12]. T Absolute temperature, K
Table 3. Physical properties of the gas sample Tc Critical temperature, K
Components Mole (%) T c (o R) Pc (psi) Tpr Pseudo-reduced temperature
CO2 0.0131 547.45 1071
Tr Reduced temperature
H2 S 0.057 672.45 1300
N2 0.0052 227.27 493 t Reciprocal of the pseudo-reduced temperature
C1 0.9151 343.04 667.8 V Volume, m3
C2 0.0084 549.76 707.8 Vc Critical volume, m3
C3 0.0008 665.68 616.3
z Compressibility factor
iC4 0.0002 734.65 529.1
nC4 0.0002 765.32 550.7 ρr Reduced gas density

Table 4. Experimental data of the gas sample

Temperature (o F) Pressure (psi) zexp. * References
100 600 0.913
1000 0.883 [1] Xiang H W. The Corresponding-States Principle and its Prac-
1500 0.843 tice. Elsevier Science & Technology, 2005. 9
2000 0.816 [2] Elsharkawy A M. Fluid Phase Equilibria, 2004, 218: 1
2500 0.808
[3] Sutton J R. Soc Mech Engineers, 1965, 76
3000 0.815
[4] Standing M B, Katz D L. Trans AIME, 1942, 140: 146
4000 0.867
[5] Brown G G. The Compressibility of Gases, Part I-Pure Gases.
5000 0.945
Pet Eng, 1940: 21
* experimental z-factor data [6] Brown G G, Holcomb D E. The Compressibility of Gases, Part
II-Gaseous Mixtures. Pet Eng, 1940: 23
[7] Najim A M. [MS Dissertation]. Dhahran: King Fahd University,
5. Conclusions 1995
[8] Kumar N. A Thesis in Petroleum Eng, 2004: 14, 15, 23
[9] Guo B, Ghalambor A. Natural Gas Engineering Handbook, Gulf
In this article, a new correlation for a rapid estimation
Publishing Company, 2005. 22
of the z-factor for sweet gases is studied. This correlation is [10] Yarborough L, Hall K R. Oil & Gas J, 1973, 82
developed based on 3038 points from the Standing and Katz [11] Dranchuk P M, Abou-Kassem J H. J Can Petrol Tech, 1975, 14:
z-factor chart. The advantage of this correlation is that it is ex- 34
plicit in Z and thus does not require an iterative solution as is [12] Elsharkawy A M. Fluid Phase Equilibria, 2004, 218: 1

View publication stats