Agilent NGA RGA 

User Guide

Agilent Technologies
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 Contents
1 Introduction

2 DA Method Setup

3 User Workflow
Updating a Data Analysis Method 9
Changing a Default Report Template Used During Method Update 14
Changing a Default Constants File Used During Method Update 18

4 Troubleshooting
Empty Result 21
Inconsistent Results 22
Accept a Modified Template 23
Prerequisites 24

Appendix 1 - Compound Names

NGA RGA User Guide 3

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Agilent NGA RGA
User Guide

1
Introduction

The analysis of natural gas by gas chromatography is used to

estimate the energy content of the natural gas. This provides a
means to monitor custody transfer of the natural gas from the
producer to the end user. Several organizations (GPA - Gas
Processors Association [now in conjunction with the American
Petroleum Institute], ASTM international - formally American
Society of Testing and Materials, ISO - International
Organization for Standardization [which is also considered as
DIN standard and other Natural Gas Standards are based on the
ISO standards]) have developed standards based on the
individual compound energy values and other physical
constants. The calculation is based on the assumption that the
Natural Gas mixture can be separated into the individual
components. This assumption is based on Dalton’s law (the total
pressure of a gas mixture is the sum of the partial pressures):

P = S pi
where pi is the partial pressure on compound i.

When Dalton’s law is combined with the ideal gas law:

P×V=n×R×T
where P is the pressure, V is the volume, T is the temperature
and R is the Gas Constant (the value will depend upon the units
used for V, T, and P) and n is the number of moles.
When the Temperature and Volume are defined and constant,
the number of moles for each component will be proportional to
the partial pressure.
xi = pi/P = ni/ntot

The amount xi can be calculated from the response of the

individual component in the GC separation of the gas mixture.
With gas mixtures, the total concentration is normalized to
100 %. The gas mixture suppliers usually provide the gas
mixture with concentrations in mole %, however, it is possible
that the concentrations will be given in volume % or weight %. If
this is the case the volume % or weight % values will need to be

Agilent Technologies 5
1 Introduction

converted to mole %, since the values in the tables are given in

units/mole.
This requires the ability to execute a series of calculations based
on several compound specific physical constants, such as:
• Heating values
• Compressibility factor
• Molecular weight
• Liquid density
OpenLAB 2.0 CDS has added features to Data Analysis and
enhancements to Reporting that have it made possible to make
this calculations. Data Analysis (DA) now provides a Custom
Calculator Editor which allows the user to setup custom
calculations. Once the custom calculation is executed on the
injection results, the results are provided in the Injection
Results Table and are available for reports. Reporting now
provides a means to link the custom calculation results to the
report.
One type of analysis where these features are very useful is in
gas analysis. The different standards, such as GPA 2172, ASTM
D3588, and ISO 6976, detail the calculation and provide the
physical constants necessary to calculate the energy content
from the composition determined by Gas Chromatographic
analysis. The calculation can be divided into two groups; one
being based on English units, Foot Pound Second (FPS) with the
energy content being primarily reported in British Thermal Unit
(BTUs) and the other on Metric units with energy content
reported in kilo Joule (kJ) or Wobbe Index. The custom
calculation file can be linked to a table of the compound specific
physical constants which are needed for the different
calculations. The Natural Gas Analysis/Refinery Gas Analysis
(NGA/RGA) Add-on is a tool to aid the user in the setup of the
calculations and the reporting. Once the user makes the
selection of which method to update and of the parameters to
calculate, the NGA/RGA Add-on will then generate a file to be
used for the custom calculations selected, a constants file
appropriate to the selection and a report template using the
custom calculations selected. When the method is updated it
will now have path added for the custom calculation file and a
path for the report template. Once the report template is setup,
it can be further modified using DA’s Reporting tools.

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Agilent NGA RGA
User Guide

2
DA Method Setup

OpenLAB 2.0 can be installed as a standalone workstation or as

a client server system. When an instrument is setup, it is
required to be associated with at least one Project. The Project
is organized as follows:
• Project
• Analysis template
• Method
• Report template
• Result
The NGA RGA Add-on will update the selected method and save
the constants file as a .txt file and the custom calculation file as
a .ccf file in the Method folder. It also saves a report template as
an .rdl file in the Report Template folder. Since this happens at the
Project level, these updates are available to be used by any
client in a client server that access the method and associated
files. This means for a client server system it is only necessary
to select one client to install the Add-on.

Agilent Technologies 7
2 DA Method Setup

When setting up your DA method, NGA-RGA Add-on expects

some requirements to be fulfilled. If the following requirements
are not met, the Add-on will not work as expected.
• The method needs to be set up as a GC/LC Quantitative
method. This is necessary for the Custom Calculator.

Figure 1 GC/LC Quantitative method

• Compounds must have the exact names as the ones in the

constants file, and are case sensitive. See Appendix 1 on
page 25 for a list of compound names.
• Calibration in DA must be setup so that the Amount value
computed by quantification represents the
weight %/mol %/volume % according to the calibration type
chosen in the Add-on.
• If you need air correction, oxygen and nitrogen compounds
must be defined, these are case sensitive.

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User Guide

3
User Workflow

Updating a Data Analysis Method

1 Open Data Analysis from either the Control Panel or Data
Acquisition.
• From the Control Panel, select the Project with the data
to be used for the calculations and click Start Data
Analysis. If you have created a Desktop Shortcut, this will
also start from the Control Panel.

Figure 2 Start Data Analysis

Agilent Technologies 9
3 User Workflow

• From Data Acquisition, select the sample in the Run

Queue, right-click to bring up the choices, and select
either of the last two choices, Review Selected Run in Data
Analysis or Launch Data Analysis With Current Project.

Figure 3 Run Queue

After you select the data file to be loaded, either from the
Run Queue or from Data Analysis, Data Processing will be
displayed.
2 Click NGA RGA in the Home ribbon of Data Processing view.

Figure 4 NGA RGA

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 User Workflow 3

3 In the NGA RGA Add-on window click Select method and select
the method in the methods folder for the project.

Figure 5 Select Method

4 Select the Computation type you want to use (Metric or FPS).

• FPS will provide calculations and constants consistent
with GPA and ASTM standards using FPS units (also
called English or Engineering).
• Metric will provide calculations and constants file
consistent with ISO and other European standards.

Figure 6 Computation type

5 The Calibration type is Mole % by default. Change the

Calibration type to Volume % if your calibration table is in
volume % or to Weight % if your calibration is in weight %.

Figure 7 Calibration type

NGA RGA User Guide 11

3 User Workflow

6 Select the other parameters you want to use. For Metric, the
metering and combustion temperatures can be selected.
Combustion temperatures equal to or greater than the
metering temperature can be selected.
7 Click Update Method to update your method. A pop up window
will confirm that your method has been successfully updated.

If you choose to update your master method then your result
set method will not be updated. So you will need to relink
the result set with your master method. Be sure to close and
reopen your method to see the changes.

Figure 8 Method updated confirmation

8 Open the method you have updated and link it to your injections.

You can see that the Custom Calculation file has been linked to the
NOTE
method. Embedded files are discussed in the OpenLAB 2.0 Help.

Figure 9 Linked file method

The report template has been updated.

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 User Workflow 3

9 Choose the Report destination and File format to have the

report generated. The report can also be copied to the
Windows File System by selecting Windows file system radio
button in the Copy report to folder section. This will allow
access to the reports from Windows File Explorer and not
require accessing the report in OpenLAB Data Store.

Figure 10 Report file destination

Now the method is ready to use. When this processing method is

used, it will execute the custom calculation selected and
generate the reports selected after the sample has completed.
The NGA RGA Add-on is only used for setup and is not required
to run the samples.

NGA RGA User Guide 13

3 User Workflow

Changing a Default Report Template Used During Method Update

The NGA RGA Add-on default templates (FPS_NGA_Report.rdl
and Metric_NGA_Report.rdl) that are used when Update Method
is selected, are intended to be a starting point.
When you have a modified template, and want to replace the
default template used during method update, copy the template
to the Bin directory of your DA installation (by default it is: C:\
Program Files (x86)\Agilent Technologies\OpenLAB Data
Analysis\Bin).

To get a version of these files, you can use the web browser
interface of your OpenLAB Data Store to download them. In the
OpenLAB Data Store they will be stored in the report template
folder of your project and named similar to the following
example:
Metric_NGA_MoleOnlyReport_15_15_2015_02_03_17_2225276.rdl

The names of the reports have to be exact:

• FPS_NGA_Report.rdl (to replace the report used for FPS
computation)
• Metric_NGA_Report.rdl (to replace the report used in metric
computation)
If you need to restore the original template, rename or remove
the template from the Bin directory. When this is done, the
Add-on will use the embedded template.
The Report template has been set up to contain the values
calculated by the custom calculator. The idea was to provide the
calculations in the report and for you to modify the report as
necessary. The report template can be modified and saved
under a new report template name in the Project.

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 User Workflow 3

As an example, the label for Compressibility Factor can be changed

to the Spanish term, Factor de compresibilidad by completing the
following steps.
1 In Data Analysis, select Reporting.
2 Select the Report Editor and double-click on the template to be
modified.

Figure 11 Report Editor

3 Click Compressibility Factor to select it.

Figure 12 Report table

NGA RGA User Guide 15

3 User Workflow

4 Right-click on Compressibility Factor and then select Properties.

Figure 13 Report properties selector

This brings up the following screen.

Figure 14 Single Field Properties

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 User Workflow 3

5 Change the Label to Factor de compresibilidad.

Figure 15 Report Label

6 Save the report template as a new report template.

7 Select Preview and click Refresh Preview to view the change.
In this example, Figure 16, the Font color was also changed.

Figure 16 Report name change

The new report template can now be used in the method by

changing the selection of the Report template to the newly
saved template.

NGA RGA User Guide 17

3 User Workflow

Changing a Default Constants File Used During Method Update

The same approach can be used to use a modified constants file
in method update. To do so, put your new constant files in the
Bin directory of your DA installation (by default it is: C:\Program
Files (x86)\Agilent Technologies\OpenLAB Data Analysis\Bin).

To get a version of these files, you can use the web browser
interface of your OpenLAB Data Store to download them. In the
OpenLAB Data Store they will be stored in the method folder of
your project and named similar to the following example:
Metric_Constants_15_15_2015_02_03_17_2225276.txt.
These constant files are text (tab delimited) formatted.
To change them:
1 Open the .txt file in Microsoft Excel.
2 Change the values, and save the file as a *.txt file. In Save as
type, choose Text (tab delimited) (*.txt).
3 When this file is saved, the compound names with commas
are saved with quote marks, as shown in Figure 17.

Figure 17 Saved file opened in Notepad

Use the Replace function to remove the quotes for the file to be
correctly formatted. An example file in Notepad after removing the
quotation marks with the replace operation is shown in Figure 18.

Figure 18 Replace function

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 User Workflow 3

4 Rename the constants file and upload it to the OpenLAB

Data Store, once the file is modified. It will need to be
uploaded to the method directory of the correct project.
5 View the Custom Calculator and change the Constants path for
one the custom calculation listed.
6 The renamed file could be used by now saving the custom
calculation file.
7 If this constants file is to be used as the default constants
file, it has to be named as follows:
• FPS_Constants.txt-template
• Metric_Constants.txt-template
8 Click Check file:
• If the constants file is correctly formatted, there will be a
message Success File was successfully checked.
• If the constants file is incorrectly formatted, Check File
will generate Constant file (name of file) is not correctly
formatted.
If you need to restore the original constant file, rename or
remove the constant file from the Bin directory. When this is
done, the Add-on will use the embedded constant file.
For example, ASTM 3588 in the Properties of Natural Gas
Components table at 60°F and 14.696 psia gives values for
Molar Mass, Molar Mass Ratio, Ideal Gross Heating Value (in
kJ/mol, Btu/lbm, and Btu/ft3), the Ideal Net Heating Value (in
kJ/mol, Btu/lbm, and Btu/ft3), and the Summation Factor. The
table includes values for Butanes (ave), Pentanes (ave), Hexanes
(ave), Butenes (ave), and Pentenes (ave). Pentenes (ave) could
be added to a FPS constants file by opening the file in Excel
adding Pentenes (ave) as the compound name and then values
for the Molecular weight (MW), the summation factor (sum), the
Gross and Net Heating values (BTU/ft3 and BTU/lb). The Gross
and Net Heating Values (BTU/gal) needs to entered as 0 since
the average liquid density is not given. The compressibility
should be calculated from the summation factor and the Molar
Ratio is entered in the table as SpecGrav.

C H MW Z (Compress) sum Gross BTU/ft3 Gross Gross BTU/gal

BTU/lb
Pentenes_(ave) 5 10 70.134 calculate 0.060 3824 20691 0

NGA RGA User Guide 19

 3 User Workflow

Net BTU/ft3 Net BTU/lb Net BTU/gal SpecGrav

3572 19328 0 2.4215

The values for ft3gas/lb, ft3/gal liq, Density liq, B.P. C,

lbs/1000CF, Pc, Tc_F, Vc, and Accentric should be entered as
zero values. Since lbs/1000CF can be calculated from the ideal
gas law, this value can be calculated and used instead of zero in
the table.

ft3gas/lb ft3/gal liq Density liq B.P. C lbs/1000CF Pc Tc_F Vc Accentric

0 0 0 0 calculate 0 0 0 0

9 Once the file is updated, follow the procedure outlined

above to save and check the file. This file will be in the
method folder under the project.

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User Guide

4
Troubleshooting

Empty Result
1 Check that all your peaks are identified correctly. To do so,
you can check in the Injection Results pane the list of
identified peak see Figure 19.
2 Check that for your identified compounds the expected
constants have been found.

To do so, you can look in the Injection Results, the
(c)Compression factor as example.

Figure 19 Identified peak and related constant

If one of your compounds is not in the list of known compounds,
you will not have any values for this compound. In Figure 20,
the Not existing compound does not have a (c)Compression factor or
a (c)Molecular Weight associated with it.

Agilent Technologies 21
4 Troubleshooting

To solve this issue, you need either to use a valid name (see
“Appendix 1 - Compound Names” on page 25), or provide a
custom constant file (see “Changing a Default Constants File
Used During Method Update” on page 18).

Figure 20 Not existing compound name

Inconsistent Results
Check that the calibration type selected in your NGA Add-on
matches your method amount.
To do so, in the Injection Results window, you can check the
Amount, Mole % (from injection), Weight % (from injection), or the
Volume % (from injection) of your compound. See Figure 21.

Figure 21 Amount and Mole % verification

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 Troubleshooting 4

Accept a Modified Template

If you use a report template that has been modified outside of
OpenLAB CDS 2.3, and has not yet been accepted, the
Uncontrolled Report Template message is shown. See Figure 22.

Figure 22 Uncontrolled report template message

Your report will include an uncontrolled report watermark. See

Figure 23.

Figure 23 Uncontrolled report with watermark

NGA RGA User Guide 23

4 Troubleshooting

Prerequisites
To perform the procedure as described, you need the privilege
Report Template > Validate Report Template. Privileges are
configured in the Control Panel.
1 Confirm the message with OK.
2 In the Home ribbon tab, click Accept Template. See Figure 24.

Figure 24 Home - Report Editor

3 Save the template.

Next time you load the template, it will be recognized as a
validated template.
As long as you do not click Accept Template, the message will be shown
NOTE
every time you load the report template. Even if you save the template
under a new name, the application will keep showing the message until
the template has been accepted.

All reports generated with an unaccepted template will show a

corresponding warning symbol watermark in the background.

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Agilent NGA RGA
User Guide

Appendix 1 - Compound Names

The name of compounds defined in the FPS and Metric constant

files are:
methane
ethane
propane
i-butane
n-butane
2,2-dimethylpropane
i-pentane
n-pentane
2,2-dimethylbutane
2,3-dimethylbutane
cyclopentane
2-methylpentane
3-methylpentane
n-hexane
2,2-dimethylpentane
methylcyclopentane
2,4-dimethylpentane
2,2,3-trimethylbutane
benzene
3,3-dimethylpentane
cyclohexane
2-methylhexane
2,3-dimethylpentane
1,1-dimethylcyclopentane
3-methylhexane
1,t-3-dimethylcyclopentane
1,c-3-dimethylcyclopentane
3-ethylpentane
1,t-2-dimethylcyclopentane

Agilent Technologies 25
Appendix 1

2,2,4-trimethylpentane
n-heptane
methylcyclohexane
1,1,3-trimethylcyclopentane
2,2-dimethylhexane
1,c-2-dimethylcyclopentane
2,5-dimethylhexane
2,4-dimethylhexane
ethylcyclopentane
2,2,3-trimethylpentane
1,t-2,c-4-trimethylcyclopentane
3,3-dimethylhexane
1,t-2,c-3-trimethylcyclopentane
2,3,4-trimethylpentane
2,3-dimethylhexane
toluene
1,1,2-trimethylcyclopentane
1,c-2,t-4-trimethylcyclopentane
2-methylheptane
4-methylheptane
3,4-dimethylhexane
3-methylheptane
3-ethylhexane
1,c-3-dimethylcyclohexane
1,c-2,t-3-trimethylcyclopentane
1,t-4-dimethylcyclohexane
2,2,5-trimethylhexane
1,1-dimethylcyclohexane
1-methyl-t-3-ethylcyciopentane
1-methyl-c-3-ethylcyciopentane
1-methyl-t-2-ethylcyclopentane
2,2,4-trimethylhexane
1-methyl-1-ethylcyclopentane
cycloheptane
n-octane
2,2,4,4-tetramethylpentane

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 Appendix 1

1,t-3-dimethylcyclohexane
1,c-4-dimethylcyclohexane
1,c-2,c-3-trimethylcyclopentane
2,4,4-trimethylhexane
i-propylcyclopentane
2,3,5-trimethylhexane
2,2-dimethylheptane
2,4-dimethylheptane
1-ethyl-c-2-methylcyclopentane
2,2,3-trimethylhexane
1,c-2-dimethylcyclohexane
2,6-dimethylheptane
n-propylcyclopentane
1,c-3,c-5-trimethylcyclohexane
ethylcyclohexane
2,5-dimethylheptane
3,5-dimethylheptane
1,1,3-trimethylcyclohexane
2,3,3-trimethylhexane
3,3-dimethylheptane
1,1,4-trimethylcyclohexane
2,2,3,3-tetramethylpentane
ethylbenzene
2,3,4-trimethylhexane
1,t-2,t-4-trimethylcyclohexane
1,c-3,t-5-trimethylcyclohexane
m-xylene
p-xylene
3,4-dimethylheptane
2-methyloctane
4-methyloctane
3-methyloctane
1,t-2,c-3-trimethylcyclohexane
1,t-2,c-4-trimethylcyclohexane
o-xylene
1,1,2-trimethylcyclohexane

NGA RGA User Guide 27

Appendix 1

n-nonane
1,c-2,t-3-trimethylcyclohexane
1,c-2,c-3-trimethylcyclohexane
i-propylbenzene
i-propylcyclohexane
n-butylcyclopentane
propylcyclohexane
n-propylbenzene
m-ethyltoluene
p-ethyltoluene
4-methylnonane
5-methylnonane
1,3,5-trimethylbenzene
2-methylnonane
3-ethyloctane
3-methylnonane
o-ethyltoluene
1,2,4-trimethylbenzene
tert-butylbenzene
tert-butylcyclohexane
i-butylcyclohexane
n-decane
i-butylbenzene
sec-butylbenzene
1-methyl-3-isopropylbenzene
1,2,3-trimethylbenzene
1-methyl-4-isopropylbenzene
1-methyl-2-isopropylbenzene
n-butylcyclohexane
1,3-diethylbenzene
1-methyl-3-propylbenzene
1,2-diethylbenzene
n-butylbenzene
1-methyl-4-propylbenzene
1,4-diethylbenzene
1-methyl-2-propylbenzene

28 NGA RGA User Guide

 Appendix 1

n-undecane
1,2,4,5-tetramethylbenzene
1,2,3,5-tetramethylbenzene
1,2,3,4-tetramethylbenzene
naphthalene
n-dodecane
2,3-dimethylheptane
1,c-2,t-4-trimethylcyclohexane
1,c-2,c-4-trimethylcyclohexane
i-butylcyclopentane
2,2-dimethyloctane
3,3-dimethyloctane
3,6-dimethyloctane
2,3-dimethyloctane
1,4-dimethyl-2-ethylbenzene
1,2-dimethyl-4-ethylbenzene
1,3-dimethyl-2-ethylbenzene
1,2-dimethyl-3-ethylbenzene
2-methylbutylbenzene
1-tert-butyl-2-methylbenzene
n-pentylbenzene
1-methyl-t-2-(4-methylpentyl)cyclopentane
1-tert-butyl-3,5-dimethylbenzene
1,2,4-triethylbenzene
1,3,5-triethylbenzene
n-hexylbenzene
n-tridecane
n-tetradecane
n-pentadecane
cyclopropane
nitrogen
oxygen
air
carbon dioxide
carbon monoxide
helium

NGA RGA User Guide 29

Appendix 1

hydrogen
hydrogen sulfide
water
ethylene
propylene
1-butene
cis-2-butene
trans-2-butene
2-methylpropene
1-pentene
propadiene
1,2-butadiene
1,3-butadiene
acetylene
methyl acetylene
cis-2-pentene
trans-2-pentene
2-methyl-2-butene

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Agilent Technologies

© Agilent Technologies, Inc.

Printed in USA, March 2018