KR20130040764A - Hydrocarbon gas processing - Google Patents

Abstract

Apparatus and methods for compact processing assemblies for recovering propane, propylene, and heavy hydrocarbon components from a hydrocarbon gas stream are disclosed. The gas stream is cooled and expanded to a lower pressure and fed to the absorbing means. The first distillate liquid stream from the absorbing means is supplied to the heat and mass transfer means. The first distillation vapor stream from the mass transfer means is cooled to partially condense it, and forms a condensed stream with the residual vapor stream. The condensed stream is fed to the absorption means as a top feed. The second distillation vapor stream from the absorbing means is heated by cooling the first distillation vapor stream, combined with the residual vapor stream, and by heating the gas stream. The second distillate liquid stream from the mass transfer means is heated in heat and mass transfer means to strip its volatile components.

Description

Hydrocarbon gas treatment method {HYDROCARBON GAS PROCESSING}

Propylene, propane and / or bicarbonates are synthesis gas streams, refinery gas obtained from other hydrocarbon materials such as coal, crude oil, naphtha, oil shale, tar sands and lignite. gas), and may be recovered from various gases such as natural gas. Natural gas usually contains mainly methane and ethane as main parts, that is, methane and ethane together constitute at least 50 mole percent of the gas. Natural gas contains relatively small amounts of heavy hydrocarbons such as propane, butane, pentane and the like, as well as hydrogen, nitrogen, carbon dioxide and other gases and the like.

The present invention generally relates to the recovery of propylene, propane and bihydrocarbons from such gas streams. Typical analytical values for the gas stream to be treated according to the invention are approximately molar% of 88.4% methane, 6.2% ethane and other C ₂ components, 2.6% propane and other C ₃ components, 0.3% isobutane, 0.5% moderate Butane and 0.8% pentane, and nitrogen and carbon dioxide as mass. Sulfur containing gases are also often present.

Historically, periodic price fluctuations of natural gas and its liquefied natural gas (NGL) components have degraded the heavier components and propane, propylene, increasing value of liquid products. This has led to the demand for ways to recover these products more efficiently and to provide efficient recovery with less capital investment. Methods available for separation of these materials include methods based on cooling and refrigeration of gases, absorption of oil and absorption of refrigerated oil. In addition, cryogenic processes are becoming commonplace because high-efficiency devices can be used to produce power and at the same time expand and recover heat from the gas being processed. Depending on the pressure of the gas source, the richness of the gas (ethane, ethylene and heavy hydrocarbon content) and the desired end product, each or a combination of these processes can be used.

A cryogenic expansion process is currently generally preferred for the recovery of natural liquefied gas because it offers maximum simplicity with ease of start-up, operational flexibility, high efficiency, stability and excellent reliability. Because. US Patent No. 3,292,380; 4,061,481; 4,140,504; 4,157,904; 4,171,964; 4,185,978; 4,251,249; 4,278,457; 4,519,824; 4,617,039; 4,687,499; 4,689,063; 4,690,702; 4,854,955; 4,869,740; 4,889,545; 5,275,005; 5,555,748; 5,566,554; 5,568,737; 5,771,712; 5,799,507; 5,881,569; 5,890,378; 5,983,664; 6,182,469; 6,578,379; 6,712,880; 6,915,662; 7,191,617; 7,219,513; Reissued US Patent No. 33,408; Co-pending application 11 / 430,412; 11 / 839,693; 11 / 971,491; 12 / 206,230; 12 / 689,616; 12 / 717,394; 12 / 750,862; 12 / 772,472; 12 / 781,259; 12 / 868,993; 12 / 869,007; 12 / 717,394; 12 / 750,862; 12 / 772,472; 12 / 781,259; 12 / 868,993; 12 / 869,007; 12 / 869,139; 12 / 979,563; And 13 / 048,315 disclose a process in this regard. (Although the detailed description of the invention is in some cases based on other process conditions than those described in the above cited US patents).

In a typical cryogenic expansion recovery process, the gas stream supplied under pressure is cooled by heat exchange with an external cooling source, such as another stream of the process's process and / or a propane compression-cooling system. If the gas is cooled, as a high pressure liquid to the liquid it condenses part containing the desired C ₂ + components may be collected in one or more separators (separator). Depending on the richness of the gas and the amount of liquid formed, the high pressure liquid may expand to low pressure and fractionate distillate. Evaporation in the expansion phase of the liquid results in additional cooling of the stream. Under certain conditions, it may be desirable to pre-cool the high pressure liquid prior to expansion to further lower the temperature due to expansion. The expanded stream consisting of a liquid and vapor mixture is fractionally distilled in a distillation (deethanizer) column. In this column, the expansion cooled stream (s) is distilled off, such as methane, C ₂ components, which remain as overhead vapors from the desired C ₃ components and heavy hydrocarbon components as bottom liquid product, Separate nitrogen and other volatile gases.

If the feed gas is not fully condensed (usually not), the residual vapor condenses with the partial condensation, causing additional liquid to condense by further cooling of the stream through a work expansion machine or engine, or expansion valve. It is conveyed to the low pressure side. The expanded stream then enters the absorption section of the tower and is contacted with the cooled liquids to absorb C ₃ components and heavier components from the vapor portion of the expanded stream. The liquids from the absorption section are then sent to the deethane absorption section of the tower.

The distillation vapor stream is recovered from the top of the deethane absorption section and cooled from the absorption section in heat exchange relationship with the overhead vapor stream and condenses at least a portion of the distillation vapor stream. The condensed liquid is separated from the cooled distillation vapor stream to produce a cooled liquid reflux stream sent to the top of the absorption section, where the cooled liquids can contact the vapor portion of the expanded stream as described above. have. The overhead vapor from the absorption section and the vapor portion (if present) of the cooled distillation vapor stream combine to form residual methane and C ₂ component product gas.

(Residual gas leaving the process that contains essentially all methane and C ₂ components in the feed gas and essentially free of C ₃ components and heavy hydrocarbon components, and essentially all C ₃ components and heavy hydrocarbon components Separation taking place in this process (which creates a lower portion essentially free of methane and C ₂ components or more volatile components) is used to reflux the absorption section, to boil the deethane absorption section for feed gas cooling. Energy is consumed for and / or to recompress residual gas.

The present invention utilizes novel means for performing the various steps described above more effectively and with fewer devices. This is achieved by combining what has been individual devices up to now into a common housing, thereby reducing the space required for the treatment plant and reducing the capital cost of the facility. Surprisingly, Applicants have found that a more compact arrangement also significantly reduces the power consumption required to achieve a constant recovery level, thereby increasing process efficiency and reducing facility operating costs. In addition, the more compact layout eliminates much of the piping used to connect individual equipment to each other in conventional plant designs, further reducing investment costs and also eliminating associated flanged piping connections. Because pipe flanges are a potential source of hydrocarbons (volatile organic compounds (VOCs) that can also cause greenhouse gases and also be precursors to atmospheric ozone formation), removal of these flanges can lead to environmental emissions that can destroy the environment. Reduces the potential for

According to the invention, C ₂ recovery over 99.6% can be obtained while C ₂ It has been found to provide essentially complete exclusion of components. In addition, the present invention enables essentially 100% separation of C ₂ components and lighter components from C ₃ components and heavier components under lower energy requirements compared to the prior art while maintaining the same recovery level. Although the present invention is applicable at lower pressures and warmer temperatures, 400 to 1500 psia [2,758 to 10,342 kPa (a) under conditions requiring NGL recovery column top temperatures below -50 ° F. [-46 ° C.] This is particularly beneficial when dealing with supply gases of higher pressure.

To better understand the present invention, reference is made to the following examples and figures:
1 is a flow diagram of a prior art natural gas treatment plant according to US Pat. No. 5,799,507;
2 is a flow chart of a natural gas processing plant according to the present invention;
3 to 21 are flow charts illustrating alternative means of applying the invention to a natural gas stream.

In the following description of the figures, tables are provided to summarize the calculated flow rates for representative processing conditions. In the tables shown here, values for flow rates (moles per hour) have been rounded to the nearest integer for convenience. The total stream velocities presented in the tables are generally greater than the sum of the stream flow rates for the hydrocarbon components since they include all non-hydrocarbon components. The temperatures indicated are approximate values rounded to the nearest degree. It should be noted that the process design calculations performed to compare the processes illustrated in the figures are based on the assumption that there is no heat leakage from or to or from the process. The quality of commercially available insulating materials makes this a very reasonable assumption that is typically assumed by those skilled in the art.

For convenience, process variables are reported in both traditional British and international units (SI). The molar flow rates given in the tables can be interpreted as either pound moles per unit time or kilogram moles per hour. The energy consumption reported in horsepower (HP) and / or British Thermal Units per hour (MBTU / Hr) corresponds to the stated molar flow rate in pounds per hour. The energy consumption, reported in kilowatts (kW), corresponds to the stated molar flow rate of kilogram moles per hour.

Description of the Prior Art

1 is a process flow diagram showing the design of a processing plant for the recovery of C ₃ + components from natural gas using prior art according to US Patent No. 5,799,507. In this process simulation, the inlet gas enters the plant as stream 31 at a temperature of 110 ° F. [43 ° C.] and a pressure of 885 psia [6,100 kPa (a)]. If the inlet gas contains a certain concentration of sulfur compounds that prevent product streams from meeting specifications, the sulfur compounds are removed by proper pretreatment (not illustrated) of the feed gas. In addition, the feed stream is generally dehydrated to prevent hydrate (ice) formation under cryogenic conditions. Solid desiccants are typically used for this purpose.

Feed stream 31 was cooled in heat exchanger 10 with residual gas (stream 44), flash expanded separator liquids (stream 35a) and distillation liquids (stream 43) and -105 ° F [ -76 [deg.] C.] to heat exchange to cool. The cooled stream 31a enters separator 11 at a temperature of -34 ° F. [-36 ° C.] and a pressure of 875 psia [6,301 kPa (a)] where the vapor (stream 34) is condensed. 35)). Separator liquid (stream 35) is expanded by expansion valve 12 to a pressure slightly above the operating pressure of fractionation tower 15 (about 375 psia [2,583 kPa (a)]) to expand stream 35a. Cool down to a temperature of -65 ° F [-54 ° C]. Stream 35a enters heat exchanger 10 to supply cooling to the feed gas as described above, and 105 ° F. [41 ° C.] before stream 35b is fed to fractionation tower 15 at the lower mid-column feed point. To a temperature of].

Steam from the separator 12 (stream 34) enters one expansion device 13 where mechanical energy is extracted from this portion of the high pressure feed. Apparatus 13 expands the vapor substantially isentropically to the working pressure of fractional distillation column 15, and one expansion cools the expanded stream 34a to a temperature of about −100 ° F. [−74 ° C.]. Typical inflators on the market can recover up to 80-85% of what is theoretically possible in an ideal isentropic expansion. The recovered work is often used to drive centrifuge compressors (such as item 14) that can be used, for example, to recompress heated residual gas (stream 44a). The partially condensed expanded stream 34a is then fed as feed to the upper mid-column feed point.

The deethanolizer of the fractionation tower 15 is a conventional distillation column comprising a plurality of vertically spaced trays, one or more packed beds, or some combination of trays and packed beds. The deethane absorber tower consists of two sections: the necessary contact between the vapor portion of the upwardly rising expanded stream 34a and the cooled liquid falling down to condense and absorb the C ₃ and heavy components. An upper absorption (commutation) section 15a comprising trays and / or a fill layer to provide; Lower stripping section 15b comprising trays and / or packed layers to provide the necessary contact between the falling liquids and the rising vapors. The deethane absorption section 15b also includes one or more reboilers (such as reboiler 16), which strips the liquid product (stream 37) of methane, C ₂ components and lighter components. A portion of the liquids descending the tower is heated and evaporated to provide stripping vapors going up the tower. Stream 34a enters deethan absorber 15 at a mid-column feed position located underneath absorption section 15a of deethan absorber 15. The liquid portion of the expanded stream 34a is mixed with the liquids falling down from the absorption section 15a and the combined liquid continues down to the stripping section 15b of the deethane absorber 15. The vapor portion of the expanded stream 34a condenses and absorbs the C ₃ and heavy components in contact with the cooled liquid that rises up and falls down through the absorption section 15a.

A portion of the distillation vapor (stream 38) is recovered from the top of the stripping section 15b. This stream is then cooled and partially condensed in a heat exchanger 17 with a cooled deethan absorber overhead stream 36 exiting the top of the deethan absorber at a temperature of -109 ° F. [-79 ° C.] (stream ( 38a)). The cooled deethane absorber overhead stream is about -33 ° F. [cooling stream 38 to a temperature of about -103 ° F. [-75 ° C.] (stream 38a) at a temperature of -30 ° F. [-35 ° C.]. -66 ° C.] (stream 36a).

The operating pressure of the reflux separator 18 is maintained at a pressure slightly lower than the operating pressure of the deethan absorber 15. This pressure difference provides the driving force for the distillation vapor stream 38 to flow through the heat exchanger 17 to the reflux separator 18, where the condensed liquid (stream 30) is the uncondensed vapor (stream 39). )). Uncondensed vapor stream 39 is combined with warmed deethane absorber overhead stream 36a from exchanger 17 to form a residual gas stream 44 cooled at -37 ° F [-38 ° C].

Liquid stream 40 from reflux separator 18 is extruded by pump 19 to a pressure slightly above the operating pressure of deethane absorber 15. As a result, stream 40a is subsequently divided into two parts. The first portion (stream 41) is fed as a cooled top column feed (reflux) on top of the absorption section 15a of the deethan absorber 15. This cooled liquid causes the absorption cooling effect to take place within the absorption (rectification) section 15a of the deethane absorber 15, where it is directed up through the tower by evaporation of the liquid methane and ethane contained in the stream 41. Saturation of the rising vapors provides cooling in this section. As a result, both the liquids leaving the lower portion of the absorption section 15a (distillation liquid stream 43) and the steam leaving the upper portion (the overhead stream 36) are fed to the absorption section 15a (stream 41). Note that it is colder than any of the < RTI ID = 0.0 > and streams 34a). This absorption cooling effect allows the tower column (stream 36) to provide the necessary cooling to the heat exchanger 17 so that the distillation vapor stream (without operating stripping section 15b at a pressure significantly higher than in absorption section 15a) Partially condensates stream 38). This absorption cooling effect also helps the reflux stream 41 to condense and absorb the C ₃ and heavy components of the distillation vapor flowing upward through the absorption section 15a. A second portion of the extruded stream 40a (stream 42) is fed to the top of the stripping section 15b of the deethane absorber 15 where the cooled liquid is a distillation vapor stream 38 having a minimum amount of these components Act as reflux to condense and absorb the C ₃ components and heavy components flowing from bottom to top to include them.

The distillate liquid stream 43 from the deethane absorber 15 is withdrawn from the bottom of the absorption section 15a and heated when it is sent to the heat exchanger 10 to provide cooling of the incoming feed gas as described above. Typically the flow of this liquid from the deethane absorber is through a thermosiphon cycle, but a pump can be used. The liquid stream is heated to a temperature of −4 ° F. [-20 ° C.] and partially evaporates stream 43a before returning as a mid-column feed to deethan absorber 15 in the middle region of stripping section 15b. Let's do it.

In the stripping section 15b of the deethane absorber 15, the feed streams are stripped of their methane and C ₂ components. The resulting liquid product stream 37 exits the bottom of the tower at 201 ° F. [94 ° C.] based on a typical specification of ethane to propane ratio of 0.048: 1 on a molar basis in the bottom product. The cooled residual gas (stream 44) passes in a countercurrent fashion against the feed gas entering the heat exchanger 10 where it is heated to 98 ° F. [37 ° C.] (stream 44a). The residual gas is then recompressed in two stages. The first stage is a compressor 14 driven by the expansion device 13. The second stage is a compressor 20 driven by a supplemental power source that compresses residual gas (stream 44c) to sales line pressure. After cooling to 120 [deg.] F. [49 [deg.] C.] in the exhaust cooler 21, the residual gas stream 44d is sufficient to meet the line requirements (generally the size of the inlet pressure), 915 psia [6,307 kPa (a)]. Gas flows into the plumbing for sale.

A summary of stream flow rates and energy consumption for the process illustrated in FIG. 1 is presented in the table below:

(FIG. 1) Stream Flow Summary—Lb. Moles / Hr [kg moles / Hr] Stream methane ethane Propane Bhutan + sum 31 19,419 1,355 565 387 21,961 34 18,742 1,149 360 98 20,573 35 677 206 205 289 1,388 36 18,400 1,242 3 0 19,869 38 2,759 1,758 15 0 4,602 39 1,019 86 0 0 1,116 40 1,740 1,672 15 0 3,486 41 1,044 1,003 9 0 2,092 42 696 669 6 0 1,394 43 1,388 911 365 98 2,796 44 19,419 1,328 3 0 20,985 37 0 27 562 387 976

Recovery rates ^*

Propane 99.56%

Butane + 100.00%

horsepower

Residual Gas Compression 9,868HP [16,223kW]

Reflux Pump 19HP [31kW]

              -------- ----------

Total 9,887 HP [16,254 kW]

* (Based on unrounded flow)

DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

2 illustrates a flowchart of a process according to the invention. The feed gas composition and conditions considered in the process shown in FIG. 2 are the same as in FIG. 1. Thus, FIG. 2 can be compared to that of the FIG. 1 process to illustrate the advantages of the present invention.

In the simulation of the FIG. 2 process, the inlet gas enters the plant as stream 31 and enters the heat exchange means of the feed cooling section 115a in the treatment assembly 115. This heat exchange means may comprise a fin tube type heat exchanger, a flat plate heat exchanger, a brazed aluminum heat exchanger, or other type of heat exchanger including multi-path and / or multi-service heat exchangers. have. The heat exchange means is provided between the stream 31 flowing through one pass of the heat exchange means and the residual gas stream from the condensation section 115b in the treatment assembly 115 and the flash expanded separator liquid (stream 35a). To provide heat exchange. Stream 31 is cooled while heating the flash expanded separator liquids and the residual gas stream. The first portion of stream 31 (stream 32) is partially cooled to 25 ° F. [-4 ° C.] and then recovered from the heat exchange means. The remaining second portion (stream 33) is -20 ° F. [- 29 ° C.], further cooling to leave the heat exchange means.

Separator section 115e has an inner head or other means to divide it from deethane absorption section 115d so that the two sections within treatment assembly 115 can operate at different pressures. The first portion of stream 31 (stream 32) enters the bottom of separator section 115e at 875 psia [6,031 kPa (a)] where all condensed liquid is vapor condensed with heat and mass transfer in separator section 115e. It is separated from the steam before sending to the means. This heat and mass transfer means may comprise a fin tube type heat exchanger, a flat plate heat exchanger, a parallel flow aluminum heat exchanger, or another type of heat exchanger including multi-path and / or multi-service heat exchangers. The heat and mass transfer means exchanges heat between the vapor portion of the stream 32 flowing through a single path of heat and mass transfer means and the distillation liquid stream 43 flowing downward from the absorption section 115c inside the treatment assembly 115. Configured to provide, the vapor is cooled while heating the distillation liquid stream. As the steam stream is cooled, a portion of it can condense and fall down as the remaining steam continues to flow upward through heat and mass transfer means. The heat and mass transfer means also function to provide mass transfer between the vapor and liquid phases to provide continuous contact between the condensed liquid and the vapor to provide partial rectification of the vapor.

A second portion of stream 31 (stream 33) enters separator section 115e in processing assembly 115 over heat and mass transfer means. All condensed liquid is separated from the vapor and mixed with all the condensed liquid from the vapor portion of the stream 32 which flows upward through heat and mass transfer means. The vapor portion of stream 33 is combined with steam leaving heat and mass transfer means to form stream 34, which exits separator section 115e at −31 ° F. [−35 ° C.]. The liquid portions of the streams 32, 33 (if present) and all liquid condensed from the vapor portion of the heat and stream 32 of the mass transfer means are mixed to form stream 35, which is -15 ° F [-26]. ° C] exit the separator section 115e. This is inflated by the expansion valve 12 to a pressure slightly above the operating pressure of the deethane absorption section 115d in the treatment assembly 115 (about 383 psia [2,639 kPa (a)]) and the stream 35a is -42. Cool to ° F [-41 ° C]. The stream 35a enters the heat exchange means of the feed cooling section 115a to supply cooling to the feed gas as described above, and at the lower mid-column feed point to the deethane absorption section 115d in the treatment assembly 115. Stream 35b is heated to 103 ° F. [39 ° C.] before being fed.

Vapor (stream 34) from separator section 115e enters one expansion device 13 where mechanical energy is extracted from this portion of the high pressure feed. Apparatus 13 expands the vapor substantially isentropically to the working pressure of absorbing section 115c (about 380 psia [2,618 kPa (a)]), and one expansion expands expanded stream 34a about -98 ° F. Cool down to [-72 ° C]. The partially condensed expanded stream 34a is then supplied as a feed to the bottom of the absorption section 115c in the treatment assembly 115.

Absorbing section 115c comprises a plurality of vertically spaced trays, one or more pack beds, or absorbing means consisting of several combinations of trays and packed layers. The trays and / or packed bed of the absorbing section 115c provide the necessary contact between the vapors rising up and the cooled liquid falling down. The vapor portion of the expanded stream 34a rises up through the absorbing means of the absorbing section 115c to come into contact with the cooled liquid falling down to condense and absorb most of the C ₃ and heavy components from these vapors. . The liquid portion of the expanded stream 34a mixes with liquids falling down from the absorbing means of the absorbing section 115c to form a distillation liquid stream 43, which is absorbed at -102 [deg.] F. [-74 [deg.] C.). Recovery from the bottom of 115c). The distillation liquid is heated to -9 ° F. [-23 ° C.] when cooling the vapor portion of the stream 32 in the separator section 115e as described above, and the heated distillation liquid stream 43a is then subjected to the upper middle-. At the column feed point, it is fed to the deethane absorption section 115d in the treatment assembly 115. Typically the flow of this liquid from the absorption section 115c to the deethane absorption section 115d through the heat and mass transfer means of the separator section 115e is through a thermosiphon circulation, but a pump can be used.

The absorbing section 115c has an inner head or other means to divide it from the deethan absorbing section 115d so that the two sections in the treatment assembly 115 are slightly higher than the absorbing section 115c. Can work with pressure. This pressure difference provides the driving force for the first distillation vapor stream (stream 38) to be recovered from the top of the deethane absorption section 115d and sent to the heat exchange means of the condensation section 115b in the treatment assembly 115. . This heat exchange means may similarly comprise other types of heat exchangers, including fin tube type heat exchangers, plate heat exchangers, parallel flow aluminum heat exchangers, multi-path and / or multi-service heat exchangers. The heat exchange means is configured to provide heat exchange between the first distillation vapor stream 38 flowing through the single path of the heat exchange means and the second distillation vapor stream rising from the absorption section 115c in the treatment assembly 115. The second distillation vapor stream is heated while cooling and at least partially condensing stream 38, which then exits the heat exchange means and separates into its respective vapor and liquid phases. The vapor phase (if present) is combined with a heated second distillation vapor stream exiting the heat exchange means to form a residual gas stream providing cooling in the feed cooling section 115a as described above. The liquid phase is divided into two parts, streams 41 and 42.

The first portion (stream 41) is fed to the top of the absorption section 115c in the processing assembly 115 by gravity flow as a cooled top column feed (feed). This cooled liquid causes the absorption cooling effect to occur within the absorption (rectification) section 115a, where the saturation of the vapors rising upward through the tower by evaporation of the liquid methane and ethane contained in the stream 41 is this section. Provide freezing. This absorption refrigeration effect causes the heat exchange of the condensation section 115b to partially condense the first distillation vapor stream (stream 38) without operating the deethane absorption section 115d at a pressure slightly higher than the absorption section 115c. Allow the second distillation vapor stream to provide the cooling required for the means. This absorption cooling effect also helps the reflux stream 41 to condense and absorb the C ₃ and heavy components of the distillation vapor flowing up through the absorption section 115c. The second portion (stream 42) of the liquid phase separated from the condensation section 115b is the top column feed (feed) cooled to the top of the deethane absorption section 115d in the treatment assembly 115 by gravity flow. The supplied liquid acts as reflux to absorb and condense the C ₃ and heavy components flowing from below so that the distillation vapor stream 38 contains a minimum amount of these components.

The deethane absorption section 115d in the processing assembly 115 includes a mass transfer means consisting of a plurality of vertically spaced trays, one or more pack beds, or some combination of trays and packed bed. The trays and / or packed bed of the deethane absorption section 115d provide the necessary contact between the vapors that rise up and the cooled liquid that falls down. The deethane absorption section 115d also includes heat and mass transfer means below the mass transfer means. This heat and mass transfer means may comprise a fin tube type heat exchanger, a flat plate heat exchanger, a parallel flow aluminum heat exchanger, or another type of heat exchanger including multi-path and / or multi-service heat exchangers. The heat and mass transfer means are configured to provide a heat exchange between the heating medium flowing through the single path of heat and mass transfer means and the distillation liquid stream falling down from the mass transfer means of the deethane absorption section 115d so that the distillation liquid stream is heated. . When the distillation liquid stream is heated, a portion of it evaporates to form stripping vapors that rise upwards as the remaining liquid continues to fall downward through heat and mass transfer means. The heat and mass transfer means also serve to provide continuous contact between the stripping vapors and the distillation liquid stream to provide mass transfer between the vapor and liquid phases, thereby providing a liquid product stream 37 of methane, C ₂ components and light components. Stripping. The resulting liquid product (stream 37) exits the bottom of the deethane absorption section 115d and leaves the treatment assembly 115 at 203 [deg.] F. [95 [deg.] C.].

The second distillation vapor stream rising from the absorption section 115c warms in the condensation section 115b when providing cooling to the stream 38 as described above. The warmed second distillation vapor stream is combined with all steam separated from the cooled first distillation vapor stream 38 as described above. The resulting residual gas stream is heated in feed cooling section 115a when providing cooling to stream 31 as described above, as a result of which residual gas stream 44 is treated at 104 ° F. [40 ° C.]. Leaves 115. The residual gas stream is then recompressed in two stages, the compressor 14 driven by the expansion device 13 and the compressor 20 driven by an auxiliary power source. After cooling to 120 [deg.] F. [49 [deg.] C.] in the exhaust cooler 21, the residual gas stream 44c is sufficient to meet line requirements (generally the size of the inlet pressure), 915 psia [6,307 kPa (a)]. Gas flows into the plumbing for sale.

A summary of stream flow rates and energy consumption for the process illustrated in FIG. 2 is shown in the table below:

(Figure 2) Stream Flow Summary-Lb. Moles / Hr [kg moles / Hr] Stream methane ethane Propane Bhutan + sum 31 19,419 1,355 565 387 21,961 32 4,855 339 141 97 5,490 33 14,564 1,016 424 290 16,471 34 18,870 1,135 348 104 20,683 35 549 220 217 283 1,278 38 2,398 1,544 13 0 4,015 41 1,018 868 8 0 1,924 42 737 628 5 0 1,394 43 1,112 723 353 104 2,320 44 19,419 1,328 3 0 20,984 37 0 27 562 387 977

Recovery rates ^*

Propane 99.63%

Butane + 100.00%

horsepower

Residual Gas Compression 9,363HP [15,393kW]

* (Based on unrounded flow)

Comparison of Table 1 and Table 2 shows that the present invention maintains essentially the same recovery rate as the prior art. However, further comparisons of Table 1 and Table 2 show that production yields were achieved using significantly less power than the prior art. With regard to recovery efficiency (defined as the amount of propane recovered per unit power), the present invention shows an improvement of at least 5% over the prior art of the FIG. 1 process.

The improvement in recovery efficiency provided by the present invention over the prior art of the FIG. 1 process is mainly due to three factors. First, the compact arrangement of the heat exchange means of the feed cooling section 115a of the treatment assembly 115 and the condensation section 115b of the treatment assembly 115 imposes the interconnection tubing found in conventional treatment plants. Eliminate pressure drop. As a result, the residual gas flowing into the compressor 14 is at a higher pressure for the present invention than in the prior art, so that the residual gas entering the compressor 20 is at a slightly higher pressure, thereby restoring the residual gas to piping pressure. Reduces the power required by

Second, heat and mass transfer means in the deethan absorption section 115d to heat the distillation liquid leaving the mass transfer means of the deethane absorption section 115d while causing the resulting vapors to contact the liquid and strip the volatile components. Using is more effective than using a conventional distillation column with external reboilers. Volatile components are continuously stripped from the liquid, thereby reducing the concentration of the volatile components in the stripping vapors more quickly to improve the stripping effect for the present invention.

Third, using heat and mass transfer means in the separator section 115e to cool the vapor portion of the stream 32 while simultaneously condensing the heavy hydrocarbon components from the steam would then expand and serve as feed to the absorption section 115c. Provide partial rectification of stream 34 before being fed. As a result, less reflux stream (stream 41) can be seen by comparing the flow rates of stream 41 in Tables 1 and 2, thereby expanding the stream to remove C ₃ components and heavy hydrocarbon components therefrom. It is necessary to rectify 34a.

The present invention provides two other advantages over the prior art in addition to increasing processing efficiency. First, the compact arrangement of the treatment assembly 115 of the present invention is a single piece of equipment (the treatment assembly 115 of FIG. 2) and the six individual equipment items of the prior art (heat exchangers 10, 17 of FIG. 1). , Separator 11, reflux separator 18, reflux pump 19 and fractionation tower 15). This reduces ground space requirements, eliminates interconnecting piping, and eliminates power consumed by reflux pumps, thereby reducing capital and operating costs of processing plants using the present invention over the prior art. Secondly, eliminating interconnect piping means that the treatment plant using the present invention has connections with fewer flanges than in the prior art, thereby reducing the number of potential leak sources in the plant. Hydrocarbons are volatile organic compounds (VOCs), some of which are classified as greenhouse gases and some of them may be precursors of atmospheric ozone formation, which is a possibility for release to the atmosphere where the present invention may damage the environment. It means to reduce.

Other Implementation

Some environments remove the feed cooling section 115a and condensation section 115b from the processing assembly 115, and feed cooling and reflux condensation, such as the heat exchangers 23 and 17 shown in FIGS. 14-21. It may be preferred to use one or more heat exchange means external to the processing assembly for the purpose. This arrangement allows the processing assembly 115 to be smaller, which in some cases can shorten the manufacturing schedule and / or reduce the overall plant cost. In all cases it is to be understood that the exchangers 23, 17 represent either each of several heat exchangers or a single multi-path heat exchanger, or any combination thereof. Each of these heat exchangers may comprise a fin tube type heat exchanger, a flat plate heat exchanger, a parallel flow aluminum heat exchanger, or another type of heat exchanger including multi-path and / or multi-service heat exchangers. In some cases, it may be beneficial to combine feed cooling and reflux condensation in a single multi-service heat exchanger. In the heat exchanger 17 outside the processing assembly, the reflux separator 18 and the pump 19 are typically required to separate the condensed liquid stream 40 and deliver at least a portion thereof as reflux to the absorption section 115c. .

As described above with respect to the embodiment of the present invention shown in FIG. 2, the first distillation vapor stream 38 is one expansion device that partially condenses and the C ₃ components and heavy components of which the resulting condensate is valuable. It was used to absorb from the vapors leaving. However, the present invention is not limited to this embodiment. For example, if a condensate must be routed through the absorption section 115c of the treatment assembly 115 or other design considerations point to portions of the expansion device outlet, or only use a portion of the condensate as an absorbent, or such In this way it may be beneficial to treat only a portion of the outlet steam from the work expansion device. Feed gas conditions, plant size, available equipment, or other factors may be such that removal of one expansion device 13, or replacement with another expansion device (such as an expansion valve), or heat exchanger 17 (FIG. 14). To FIG. 21) or the entire (not partial) condensation of the first distillation vapor stream 38 of the condensation section 115b in the processing assembly 115 (FIGS. 2 to 13) may be shown to be possible or preferred. Depending on the composition of the feed gas stream, an external freezer to provide partial cooling of the first distillation vapor stream 38 of the heat exchanger 17 (FIGS. 14-21) or the condensation section 115b (FIGS. 2-13). It may be beneficial to use.

In some circumstances, the external separator may not include the separator section 115e of the processing assembly 115, but separate the cooled first and second portions 32, 33 or the cooled feed stream 31a. It can be beneficial to use. As shown in FIGS. 8 and 18, the heat and mass transfer means of the separator 11 may be used to separate the cooled first and second portions 32, 33 into a vapor stream 34 and a liquid stream 35. Can be. Similarly, as shown in FIGS. 9-13 and 19-21, separator 11 may be used to separate cooled feed stream 31a into vapor stream 34 and liquid stream 35. .

Selection of process streams for specific heat exchange services, specific arrangement of heat exchangers for cooling the first distillation vapor stream 38 and feed gas (streams 31 and / or 32), absorption section 115e for process heat exchange The use and distribution of the distillation liquid stream 43 from and the separator section 115e or the liquid stream 35 from the separator 11 should be evaluated for each particular application. For example, FIGS. 4-6, 10-12, 16 and 20 show condensation sections 115b (FIGS. 4, 5, 10, 11), heat exchangers (FIGS. 6, 12). Or using distillation liquid stream 43 to supply a portion of the cooling of first distillation vapor stream 38 of heat exchanger 17 (FIGS. 16, 20). In such cases, heat and mass transfer means may not be needed in separator section 115e (FIGS. 4-6, 16) or separator 11 (FIGS. 10-12, 20). In the embodiments shown in FIGS. 4 and 10, a pump 22 is used to deliver the distillation liquid stream 43 to the heat exchange means of the condensation section 115b. In the embodiments shown in FIGS. 5 and 11, the condensation section 115b is positioned below the absorption section 115c of the treatment assembly 115 such that the flow of the distillation liquid stream 43 is through a thermosiphon circulation. In the embodiments shown in FIGS. 6 and 12, the heat exchanger 10 outside the processing assembly 115 is used and the feed cooling section 115a is located below the absorption section 115c of the processing assembly 115. The flow of the distillation liquid stream 43 is through a thermal siphon circulation. (The embodiments shown in FIGS. 5, 6, 11, and 12 provide reflux to locations above the point of the processing assembly 115. And a liquid phase condensed from the stream 38 is collected.) In the embodiments shown in FIGS. 16 and 20, the thermosiphon circulation causes the distillation liquid stream 43 to be subjected to a heat exchanger ( 17) may be sufficient, or a pump 22 may be needed to circulate the stream 43. Some environments, such as the heat exchanger 10 illustrated in FIGS. 3, 9, 15, and 19, produce a distillation liquid stream 43 to cool the stream 32 in a heat exchanger outside the treatment assembly 115. You may prefer to use it. Still other situations do not heat the distillation liquid stream 43 at all, and instead replace the distillation liquid stream as reflux on top of the deethane absorption section 115d as shown in FIGS. 7, 13, 17, and 21. 43) (in the embodiment shown in FIGS. 13 and 21, the pump 22 may be necessary because gravity flow of the stream 43 may not be possible).

Depending on the feed gas pressure and the amount of heavy hydrocarbons in the feed gas, the cooled first and second portions 32 entering the separator 11 of FIGS. 8 and 18 or the separator section 115e of FIGS. 33 (or the cooled feed stream 31a entering the separator 11 of FIGS. 9-13 and 19-21 or the separator section 115e of FIGS. 3-7 and 15-17). It may also contain no liquid (because it is above its dew point, or above its maximum critical pressure). In such cases, there is no liquid in the stream 35 (as shown by the dashed lines). In this situation, separator section 115e (FIGS. 2-7 and 14-17) or separator 11 (FIGS. 8-13 and 18-21) of the processing assembly 115 may not be needed. Can be.

According to the invention, the use of an external freezer to compensate for the cooling available to the first distillation vapor stream and / or the inlet gas from the second distillation vapor stream and the distillation liquid streams, in particular in the case of rich inlet gas, , Can be used. In these cases where an additional inlet gas cooler is required, the heat and mass transfer means is separated by the separator section 115e (or cooled first and second portions) as shown by the dashed lines in FIGS. 3-7 and 15-17. (32, 33) or the gas collection means in these cases when the cooled feed stream 31a does not contain liquid, or heat and mass transfer means are shown in FIGS. 9-13 and 19-21. It can be included in the separator 11 as shown by the chain lines of. This heat and mass transfer means may comprise a fin tube type heat exchanger, a flat plate heat exchanger, a parallel flow aluminum heat exchanger, or another type of heat exchanger including multi-path and / or multi-service heat exchangers. The heat and mass transfer means are configured to provide heat exchange between the refrigerant stream flowing through a single path of heat and mass transfer means (e.g. propane) and the vapor portion of the stream 31a flowing upwards such that the refrigerant adds steam. To cool and condense additional liquid, which falls downward to be part of the liquid removed from stream 35. As shown by the dashed lines in FIGS. 2, 8, 14, and 18, the heat and mass transfer means of separator 11 (FIGS. 8, 18) or separator section 115e (FIGS. 2, 14) It may include a facility for providing auxiliary cooling with a refrigerant. Alternatively, stream 31a enters separator section 115e (FIGS. 3-7 and 15-17) or separator 11 (FIGS. 9-13 and 19-21) or stream 32. , Prior to entering the separator section 115e (FIGS. 2 and 14) or separator 11 (FIGS. 8 and 18), the conventional gas chiller (s) is subjected to stream 32, stream 33. ) And / or to cool the stream 31a with a refrigerant. In cases where additional cooling of the first distillation vapor stream is required, heat exchange means (FIGS. 2-5, 7-11 and 13), heat exchanger 10 of the condensation section 115b of the treatment assembly 115. (FIGS. 6 and 12), or heat exchanger 17 (FIGS. 14-21) may include facilities for providing auxiliary cooling with refrigerant, as shown by the dashed lines.

Depending on the type of heat transfer devices selected for the heat exchange means of the condensation section 115b and the feed cooling section 115a (FIGS. 2-5, 7-11 and 13), a single multi-path and / or It may be possible to combine such heat exchange means in a multi-service heat transfer device. In such cases, the multi-path and / or multi-service heat transfer device may be adapted to achieve stream 31, stream 32, stream 33, first distillation vapor stream 38, cooling to achieve the desired cooling and heating. Suitable means for distributing, separating and collecting all of the vapor and second distillation vapor stream separated from the separated stream 38.

The relative amounts of condensed liquid separated between the streams 41, 42 of FIGS. 2-6, 8-12, 14-16 and 18-20 may be used to determine gas pressure, feed gas composition, It is recognized that it depends on several factors including the amount of power. Optimal separation cannot generally be predicted without evaluating specific situations for a particular application of the present invention. Some situations supply nothing to the top of the deethane absorption section 115d in stream 42 and to the top of absorption section 115c in stream 41, as shown by the dashed lines for stream 42. It may be preferred to supply all of the condensed liquid. In such cases, the heated distillation liquid stream 43a may be supplied to the top of the deethane absorption section 115d to act as reflux.

The present invention provides an improved recovery of C ₃ components and heavy hydrocarbon components per plant consumption required to operate the process. Improvements in equipment consumption required to operate the process include reduced power requirements for compression or recompression, reduced power requirements for external refrigeration, reduced energy requirements for top reboiling, or their It can appear in the form of a combination.

Having described what are considered to be preferred embodiments of the invention, those skilled in the art will recognize that other and further modifications may be made, for example, to the invention without departing from the spirit of the invention as defined by the following claims. It will be appreciated that this may be done for them by adapting to their feed, or other requirements.

Claims (45)

To separate a gas stream containing methane, C ₂ components, C ₃ components, and heavy hydrocarbon components into a volatile residual gas fraction and a relatively less volatile fraction containing most of the C ₃ and heavy hydrocarbon components. In the method,
(1) said gas stream is cooled in a first heat exchange means;
(2) said cooled gas stream is expanded to low pressure and further cooled;
(3) said expanded and cooled gas stream is supplied as a bottom feed to absorbing means contained in a processing assembly;
(4) a first distillation liquid stream is collected from the bottom of the absorbing means and fed as a top feed to the mass transfer means contained in the processing assembly;
(5) a first distillation vapor stream is collected from the top of said mass transfer means and cooled sufficiently to condense at least part thereof in said second heat exchange means;
(6) said at least partially condensed first distillation vapor stream is fed to a separation means and separated therein, condensing with a residual vapor stream containing all uncondensed steam remaining after said first distillation vapor stream has cooled; Forming a stream;
(7) at least a portion of the condensed stream is fed to the absorbing means as a top feed;
(8) a second distillation vapor stream is collected from the top of the absorbing means and heated in the second heat exchange means to supply at least part of the cooling of step (5);
(9) said heated second distillation vapor stream is combined with any of said residual vapor stream to form a combined vapor stream;
(10) said combined vapor stream is heated in said first heat exchange means to supply at least a portion of the cooling of step (1) and thereafter to discharge said heated combined vapor stream as said volatile residual gas fraction;
(11) a second distillation liquid stream is collected from the bottom of the mass transfer means and heated in the mass transfer means and the heat contained in the processing assembly, while stripping more volatile components from the second distillation liquid stream, and then Draining the heated and stripped second distillation liquid stream from the processing assembly as the relatively less volatile fraction;
(12) The temperatures and amounts of the feed streams to the absorbing means are effective to maintain the temperature of the upper portion of the absorbing means at a predetermined temperature such that most of the relatively less volatile fraction of the oil is recovered. . To separate a gas stream containing methane, C ₂ components, C ₃ components, and heavy hydrocarbon components into a volatile residual gas fraction and a relatively less volatile fraction containing most of the C ₃ and heavy hydrocarbon components. In the method,
(1) the gas stream is cooled sufficiently to partially condense it in the first heat exchange means;
(2) said partially condensed gas stream is supplied to a first separating means and separated therein to provide a vapor stream and at least one liquid stream;
(3) the vapor stream is expanded to lower pressure and further cooled;
(4) said expanded and cooled gas stream is supplied as a bottom feed to absorbing means contained in a processing assembly;
(5) said at least one liquid stream is expanded to said lower pressure;
(6) a first distillation liquid stream is collected from the bottom of the absorbing means and fed as a top feed to the mass transfer means contained in the processing assembly;
(7) a first distillation vapor stream is collected from the top of said mass transfer means and cooled sufficiently to condense at least part thereof in said second heat exchange means;
(8) the at least partially condensed first distillation vapor stream is fed to a second separating means and separated therein so that a residual vapor stream containing all uncondensed vapor remaining after the first distillation vapor stream has cooled down To form a condensed stream;
(9) at least a portion of the condensed stream is fed to the absorbing means as a top feed;
(10) a second distillation vapor stream is collected from the top of the absorbing means and heated in the second heat exchange means to supply at least part of the cooling of step (7);
(11) said heated second distillation vapor stream is combined with any of said residual vapor stream to form a combined vapor stream;
(12) said combined vapor stream is heated in said first heat exchange means to supply at least a portion of the cooling of step (1) and thereafter to discharge said heated combined vapor stream as said volatile residual gas fraction;
(13) said expanded at least one liquid stream is heated in said first heat exchange means to supply at least a portion of the cooling of step (1) and thereafter to said heated and expanded at least one liquid stream to said mass transfer means. Feed as bottom feed;
(14) a second distillation liquid stream is collected from the bottom of the mass transfer means and heated in the mass transfer means and heat contained in the processing assembly, while stripping more volatile components from the second distillation liquid stream, and then Draining the heated and stripped second distillation liquid stream from the processing assembly as the relatively less volatile fraction;
(15) The temperatures and amounts of the feed streams to the absorbing means are effective to maintain the temperature of the upper portion of the absorbing means at a predetermined temperature such that most of the less volatile fraction of the oil is recovered. . To separate a gas stream containing methane, C ₂ components, C ₃ components, and heavy hydrocarbon components into a volatile residual gas fraction and a relatively less volatile fraction containing most of the C ₃ and heavy hydrocarbon components. In the method,
(1) said gas stream is cooled in a first heat exchange means;
(2) said cooled gas stream is expanded to lower pressure and further cooled;
(3) said expanded and cooled gas stream is supplied as a bottom feed to absorbing means contained in a processing assembly;
(4) a first distillation liquid stream is collected from the bottom of the absorbing means and fed as a top feed to the mass transfer means contained in the processing assembly;
(5) a first distillation vapor stream is collected from the top of the mass transfer means and cooled sufficiently to condense at least a portion thereof in the second heat exchange means to supply at least a portion of the heating of step (4);
(6) said at least partially condensed first distillation vapor stream is fed to a separation means and separated therein, condensing with a residual vapor stream containing all uncondensed steam remaining after said first distillation vapor stream has cooled; Forming a stream;
(7) at least a portion of the condensed stream is fed to the absorbing means as a top feed;
(8) a second distillation vapor stream is collected from the top of the absorbing means and heated in the second heat exchange means to supply at least part of the cooling of step (5);
(9) said heated second distillation vapor stream is combined with any of said residual vapor stream to form a combined vapor stream;
(10) said combined vapor stream is heated in said first heat exchange means to supply at least a portion of the cooling of step (1) and thereafter to discharge said heated combined vapor stream as said volatile residual gas fraction;
(11) a second distillation liquid stream is collected from the bottom of the mass transfer means and heated in the mass transfer means and the heat contained in the processing assembly, while stripping more volatile components from the second distillation liquid stream, and then Draining the heated and stripped second distillation liquid stream from the processing assembly as the relatively less volatile fraction;
(12) The temperatures and amounts of the feed streams to the absorbing means are effective to maintain the temperature of the upper portion of the absorbing means at a predetermined temperature such that most of the relatively less volatile fraction of the oil is recovered. . To separate a gas stream containing methane, C ₂ components, C ₃ components, and heavy hydrocarbon components into a volatile residual gas fraction and a relatively less volatile fraction containing most of the C ₃ and heavy hydrocarbon components. In the method,
(1) the gas stream is cooled sufficiently to partially condense it in the first heat exchange means;
(2) said partially condensed gas stream is supplied to a first separating means and separated therein to provide a vapor stream and at least one liquid stream;
(3) the vapor stream is expanded to lower pressure and further cooled;
(4) said expanded and cooled gas stream is supplied as a bottom feed to absorbing means contained in a processing assembly;
(5) said at least one liquid stream is expanded to said lower pressure;
(6) a first distillation liquid stream is collected from the bottom of the absorbing means and heated in a second heat exchange means, and the heated first distillation liquid stream is then supplied as an upper feed to the mass transfer means contained in the processing assembly. Become;
(7) a first distillation vapor stream is collected from the top of the mass transfer means and cooled sufficiently to condense at least a portion of the second heat exchange means to supply at least a portion of the heating of step (6);
(8) the at least partially condensed first distillation vapor stream is fed to a second separating means and separated therein so that a residual vapor stream containing all uncondensed vapor remaining after the first distillation vapor stream has cooled down To form a condensed stream;
(9) at least a portion of the condensed stream is fed to the absorbing means as a top feed;
(10) a second distillation vapor stream is collected from the top of the absorbing means and heated in the second heat exchange means to supply at least part of the cooling of step (7);
(11) said heated second distillation vapor stream is combined with any of said residual vapor stream to form a combined vapor stream;
(12) said combined vapor stream is heated in said first heat exchange means to supply at least a portion of the cooling of step (1) and thereafter to discharge said heated combined vapor stream as said volatile residual gas fraction;
(13) said expanded at least one liquid stream is heated in said first heat exchange means to supply at least a portion of the cooling of step (1) and thereafter to said heated and expanded at least one liquid stream to said mass transfer means. Feed as bottom feed;
(14) a second distillation liquid stream is collected from the bottom of the mass transfer means and heated in the mass transfer means and heat contained in the processing assembly, while stripping more volatile components from the second distillation liquid stream, and then Draining the heated and stripped second distillation liquid stream from the processing assembly as the relatively less volatile fraction;
(15) The temperatures and amounts of the feed streams to the absorbing means are effective to maintain the temperature of the upper portion of the absorbing means at a predetermined temperature such that most of the less volatile fraction of the oil is recovered. . To separate a gas stream containing methane, C ₂ components, C ₃ components, and heavy hydrocarbon components into a volatile residual gas fraction and a relatively less volatile fraction containing most of the C ₃ and heavy hydrocarbon components. In the method,
(1) said gas stream is partially cooled in a first heat exchange means;
(2) said partially cooled gas stream is divided into first and second portions;
(3) the first portion is further cooled in the first heat and mass transfer means received in the first separation means, while condensing all less volatile components from the first portion;
(4) said second portion is further cooled in said first heat exchange means;
(5) said further cooled first portion and said further cooled second portion combine to form a cooled gas stream;
(6) said cooled gas stream is expanded to lower pressure and further cooled;
(7) said expanded and cooled gas stream is supplied as a bottom feed to absorbing means contained in a processing assembly;
(8) a first distillation liquid stream is collected from the bottom of the absorbing means and heated in the first heat and mass transfer means to supply at least a portion of the cooling of step (3), wherein the heated first distillation liquid stream is Then supplied as a top feed to the mass transfer means contained in the processing assembly;
(9) a first distillation vapor stream is collected from the top of the mass transfer means and cooled sufficiently to condense at least a portion of the second heat exchange means;
(10) said at least partially condensed first distillation vapor stream is fed to a second separating means and separated therein so that a residual vapor stream containing all uncondensed vapor remaining after the first distillation vapor stream has cooled down To form a condensed stream;
(11) at least a portion of the condensed stream is fed to the absorbing means as a top feed;
(12) a second distillation vapor stream is collected from the top of the absorbing means and heated in the second heat exchange means to supply at least part of the cooling of step (9);
(13) said heated second distillation vapor stream is combined with any of said residual vapor stream to form a combined vapor stream;
(14) the combined vapor stream is heated in the first heat exchange means to supply at least a portion of the cooling of step (1), and then discharge the heated combined vapor stream as the volatile residual gas fraction;
(15) a second distillation liquid stream is collected from the bottom of the mass transfer means and heated in the second heat and mass transfer means received in the processing assembly, while stripping more volatile components from the second distillation liquid stream, and Withdrawing the heated and stripped second distillate liquid stream from the processing assembly as the relatively less volatile fraction;
(16) the temperatures and amounts of the feed streams to the absorbing means are effective to maintain the temperature of the upper portion of the absorbing means at a predetermined temperature such that most of the relatively less volatile fraction of the oil is recovered. . To separate a gas stream containing methane, C ₂ components, C ₃ components, and heavy hydrocarbon components into a volatile residual gas fraction and a relatively less volatile fraction containing most of the C ₃ and heavy hydrocarbon components. In the method,
(1) said gas stream is partially cooled in a first heat exchange means;
(2) said partially cooled gas stream is divided into first and second portions;
(3) the first portion is further cooled in the first heat and mass transfer means contained in the first separation means, while condensing less volatile components from the first portion;
(4) said second portion is further cooled in said first heat exchange means;
(5) The further cooled second portion is combined with the first separation means when all liquids condensed as the first portion are further cooled and the second portion is further cooled to combine one or more liquid streams. A remainder of the further cooled first portion and the further cooled second portion forms a vapor stream;
(6) said vapor stream is expanded to lower pressure and further cooled;
(7) said expanded and cooled vapor stream is supplied as a bottom feed to absorbing means contained in a processing assembly;
(8) said at least one liquid stream is expanded to said lower pressure;
(9) a first distillation liquid stream is collected from the bottom of said absorbing means and heated in said first heat and mass transfer means to supply at least a portion of the cooling of step (3), wherein said heated first distillation liquid stream is Then supplied as a top feed to the mass transfer means contained in the processing assembly;
(10) a first distillation vapor stream is collected from the top of the mass transfer means and cooled sufficiently to condense at least a portion of the second heat exchange means;
(11) said at least partially condensed first distillation vapor stream is fed to a second separation means and separated therein, so that a residual vapor stream containing all uncondensed steam remaining after the first distillation vapor stream has cooled down To form a condensed stream;
(12) at least a portion of the condensed stream is fed to the absorbing means as a top feed;
(13) a second distillation vapor stream is collected from the top of the absorbing means and heated in the second heat exchange means to supply at least part of the cooling of step (10);
(14) said heated second distillation vapor stream is combined with any of said residual vapor stream to form a combined vapor stream;
(15) said combined vapor stream is heated in said first heat exchange means to supply at least a portion of the cooling of steps (1) and (4), and then to transfer said heated combined vapor stream to said volatile residual gas. Discharge as oil;
(16) said expanded at least one liquid stream is heated in said first heat exchange means to supply at least a portion of the cooling of step (1) and thereafter to said heated and expanded at least one liquid stream to said mass transfer means. Feed as bottom feed;
(17) a second distillation liquid stream is collected from the bottom of the mass transfer means and heated in the second heat and mass transfer means received in the treatment assembly, while simultaneously stripping more volatile components from the second distillation liquid stream. Withdrawing the heated and stripped second distillate liquid stream from the processing assembly as the relatively less volatile fraction;
(18) The temperatures and amounts of the feed streams to the absorbing means are effective to maintain the temperature of the upper portion of the absorbing means at a predetermined temperature such that most of the less volatile fraction of the oil is recovered. . To separate a gas stream containing methane, C ₂ components, C ₃ components, and heavy hydrocarbon components into a volatile residual gas fraction and a relatively less volatile fraction containing most of the C ₃ and heavy hydrocarbon components. In the method,
(1) said gas stream is partially cooled in a first heat exchange means;
(2) said partially cooled gas stream is divided into first and second portions;
(3) said first portion is further cooled in a second heat exchange means;
(4) said second portion is further cooled in said first heat exchange means;
(5) said further cooled first portion and said further cooled second portion are combined to form a cooled gas stream;
(6) said cooled gas stream is expanded to lower pressure and further cooled;
(7) said expanded and cooled gas stream is supplied as a bottom feed to absorbing means contained in a processing assembly;
(8) a first distillation liquid stream is collected from the bottom of the absorbing means and heated in the second heat exchange means to supply at least a portion of the cooling of step (3), and the heated first distillation liquid stream is then Supplied as a top feed to mass transfer means contained in the processing assembly;
(9) a first distillation vapor stream is collected from the top of said mass transfer means and cooled sufficiently to condense at least a portion thereof in a third heat exchange means;
(10) said at least partially condensed first distillation vapor stream is fed to a separation means and separated therein, condensing with a residual vapor stream containing all uncondensed steam remaining after said first distillation vapor stream has cooled; Forming a stream;
(11) at least a portion of the condensed stream is fed to the absorbing means as a top feed;
(12) a second distillation vapor stream is collected from the top of the absorbing means and heated in the third heat exchange means to supply at least part of the cooling of step (9);
(13) said heated second distillation vapor stream is combined with any of said residual vapor stream to form a combined vapor stream;
(14) said combined vapor stream is heated in said first heat exchange means to supply at least a portion of the cooling of steps (1) and (4), and then to transfer said heated combined vapor stream to said volatile residual gas. Discharge as oil;
(15) a second distillation liquid stream is collected from the bottom of the mass transfer means and heated in the second heat and mass transfer means received in the processing assembly, while stripping more volatile components from the second distillation liquid stream, and Withdrawing the heated and stripped second distillate liquid stream from the processing assembly as the relatively less volatile fraction;
(16) the temperatures and amounts of the feed streams to the absorbing means are effective to maintain the temperature of the upper portion of the absorbing means at a predetermined temperature such that most of the relatively less volatile fraction of the oil is recovered. . To separate a gas stream containing methane, C ₂ components, C ₃ components, and heavy hydrocarbon components into a volatile residual gas fraction and a relatively less volatile fraction containing most of the C ₃ and heavy hydrocarbon components. In the method,
(1) said gas stream is partially cooled in a first heat exchange means;
(2) said partially cooled gas stream is divided into first and second portions;
(3) said first portion is further cooled in a second heat exchange means;
(4) said second portion is further cooled in said first heat exchange means;
(5) said further cooled first portion and said further cooled second portion are combined to form a partially condensed gas stream;
(6) said partially condensed gas stream is supplied to a first separating means and separated therein to provide a vapor stream and at least one liquid stream;
(7) the vapor stream is expanded to lower pressure and further cooled;
(8) said expanded and cooled vapor stream is supplied as a bottom feed to absorbing means contained in a processing assembly;
(9) said at least one liquid stream is expanded to said lower pressure;
(10) a first distillation liquid stream is collected from the bottom of the absorbing means and heated in the second heat exchange means to supply at least a portion of the cooling of step (3), and the heated first distillation liquid stream is then Supplied as a top feed to mass transfer means contained in the processing assembly;
(11) a first distillation vapor stream is collected from the top of said mass transfer means and cooled sufficiently to condense at least a portion thereof in a third heat exchange means;
(12) said at least partially condensed first distillation vapor stream is fed to a second separating means and separated therein, so that a residual vapor stream containing all uncondensed steam remaining after the first distillation vapor stream has cooled down To form a condensed stream;
(13) at least a portion of the condensed stream is fed to the absorbing means as a top feed;
(14) a second distillation vapor stream is collected from the top of the absorbing means and heated in the third heat exchange means to supply at least part of the cooling of step (11);
(15) said heated second distillation vapor stream is combined with any of said residual vapor stream to form a combined vapor stream;
(16) said combined vapor stream is heated in said first heat exchange means to supply at least a portion of the cooling of steps (1) and (4), and then said heated combined vapor stream is transferred to said volatile residual gas. Discharge as oil;
(17) said expanded one or more liquid streams are heated in said first heat exchange means to supply at least a portion of the cooling of step (1), after which said heated and expanded one or more liquid streams to said mass transfer mass Feed as bottom feed;
(18) a second distillation liquid stream is collected from the bottom of the mass transfer means and heated in the mass transfer means and heat contained in the processing assembly, while stripping more volatile components from the second distillation liquid stream, and then Draining the heated and stripped second distillation liquid stream from the processing assembly as the relatively less volatile fraction;
(19) The temperatures and amounts of the feed streams to the absorbing means are effective to maintain the temperature of the upper portion of the absorbing means at a predetermined temperature such that most of the less volatile fraction of the oil is recovered. . The method according to claim 2,
And the first separating means is housed in the processing assembly. The method according to claim 4 or 8,
And the first separating means is housed in the processing assembly. The method according to claim 5 or 6,
And the first separating means is housed in the processing assembly. The method according to claim 3 or 7,
(1) said heated first distillation liquid stream is supplied to said mass transfer means at an intermediate feed position;
(2) said condensed stream is divided into at least first and second reflux streams;
(3) said first reflux stream is supplied to said absorbing means as said top feed;
(4) said second reflux stream is fed to said mass transfer means as said top feed. The method according to claim 4 or 8,
(1) said heated first distillation liquid stream is supplied to said mass transfer means at an intermediate feed position;
(2) said condensed stream is divided into at least first and second reflux streams;
(3) said first reflux stream is supplied to said absorbing means as said top feed;
(4) said second reflux stream is fed to said mass transfer means as said top feed. The method according to claim 5 or 6,
(1) said heated first distillation liquid stream is supplied to said mass transfer means at an intermediate feed position;
(2) said condensed stream is divided into at least first and second reflux streams;
(3) said first reflux stream is supplied to said absorbing means as said top feed;
(4) said second reflux stream is fed to said mass transfer means as said top feed. The method of claim 10,
(1) said heated first distillation liquid stream is supplied to said mass transfer means at an intermediate feed position;
(2) said condensed stream is divided into at least first and second reflux streams;
(3) said first reflux stream is supplied to said absorbing means as said top feed;
(4) said second reflux stream is fed to said mass transfer means as said top feed. The method of claim 11,
(1) said heated first distillation liquid stream is supplied to said mass transfer means at an intermediate feed position;
(2) said condensed stream is divided into at least first and second reflux streams;
(3) said first reflux stream is supplied to said absorbing means as said top feed;
(4) said second reflux stream is fed to said mass transfer means as said top feed. The method according to any one of claims 1, 3 or 7,
(1) gas collecting means is received in the processing assembly;
(2) additional heat and mass transfer means are included in the gas collecting means, the additional heat and mass transfer means including one or more paths for an external refrigeration medium;
(3) said cooled gas stream is supplied to said gas collecting means and sent to said additional heat and mass transfer means for further cooling by said external refrigeration medium;
(4) wherein said further cooled gas stream is expanded to said lower pressure and then supplied to said absorbing means as said bottom feed. The method of claim 12,
(1) gas collecting means is received in the processing assembly;
(2) additional heat and mass transfer means are included in the gas collecting means, the additional heat and mass transfer means including one or more paths for an external refrigeration medium;
(3) said cooled gas stream is supplied to said gas collecting means and sent to said additional heat and mass transfer means for further cooling by said external refrigeration medium;
(4) wherein said further cooled gas stream is expanded to said lower pressure and then supplied to said absorbing means as said bottom feed. The method according to any one of claims 2, 4, 8 or 9,
(1) additional heat and mass transfer means are included in said first separating means, said additional heat and mass transfer means including one or more paths for an external refrigeration medium;
(2) said vapor stream is sent to said heat and mass transfer means to be cooled by said external refrigeration medium to form additional condensate;
(3) the condensate becomes part of the one or more liquid streams separated therein. The method of claim 10,
(1) additional heat and mass transfer means are included in said first separating means, said additional heat and mass transfer means including one or more paths for an external refrigeration medium;
(2) said vapor stream is sent to said heat and mass transfer means to be cooled by said external refrigeration medium to form additional condensate;
(3) the condensate becomes part of the one or more liquid streams separated therein. The method according to claim 13,
(1) additional heat and mass transfer means are included in said first separating means, said additional heat and mass transfer means including one or more paths for an external refrigeration medium;
(2) said vapor stream is sent to said heat and mass transfer means to be cooled by said external refrigeration medium to form additional condensate;
(3) the condensate becomes part of the one or more liquid streams separated therein. The method according to claim 15,
(1) additional heat and mass transfer means are included in said first separating means, said additional heat and mass transfer means including one or more paths for an external refrigeration medium;
(2) said vapor stream is sent to said heat and mass transfer means to be cooled by said external refrigeration medium to form additional condensate;
(3) the condensate becomes part of the one or more liquid streams separated therein. To separate the gas stream containing methane, C ₂ components, C ₃ components and bihydrocarbon components into a volatile residual gas fraction and a relatively less volatile fraction containing most of the C ₃ and bihydrocarbon components. In the apparatus,
(1) first heat exchange means for cooling said gas stream;
(2) expansion means connected to said first heat exchange means to receive said cooled gas stream and expand it to lower pressure;
(3) absorbent means housed in a processing assembly and connected to said expansion means to receive said expanded and cooled gas stream as a bottom feed thereto;
(4) first liquid collecting means housed in said processing assembly and connected to said absorbing means to receive a first distillation liquid stream from the bottom of said absorbing means;
(5) mass transfer means received in said processing assembly and connected to said first liquid collection means to receive said first distillation liquid stream as a top feed thereto;
(6) first vapor collection means housed in said processing assembly and connected to said mass transfer means to receive a first distillation vapor stream from the top of said mass transfer means;
(7) second heat exchange means connected to said first vapor collecting means to receive said first distillation vapor stream and cool it sufficiently to condense at least a portion thereof;
(8) a residual vapor stream connected to said second heat exchange means to receive said at least partially condensed first distillation vapor stream and contain all uncondensed vapor remaining after said first distillation vapor stream has cooled; Separating means for separating into a condensed stream;
(9) said absorbing means is further connected to said separating means to receive at least a portion of said condensed stream as a top feed thereto;
(10) second vapor collecting means housed in said processing assembly and connected to said absorbing means to receive a second distillation vapor stream from the top of said absorbing means;
(11) said second heat exchange means being further connected to said second vapor collecting means to receive and heat said second distillation vapor stream to supply at least a portion of the cooling of step (7);
(12) combining means connected to said second heat exchange means and said separating means to receive said heated second distillation vapor stream and all said residual vapor stream and form a combined vapor stream;
(13) said first heat exchange means being further connected to said combining means to receive and heat said combined vapor stream to supply at least a portion of the cooling of step (1) and thereafter said heated combined steam; Evacuating the stream as the volatile residual gas fraction;
(14) second liquid collecting means housed in said processing assembly and connected to said mass transfer means to receive a second distillation liquid stream from the bottom of said mass transfer means;
(15) received in the processing assembly and connected to the second liquid collecting means to receive and heat the second distillation liquid stream, while simultaneously stripping more volatile components from the second distillation liquid stream, and then Heat and mass transfer means for discharging a heated and stripped second distillation liquid stream from the processing assembly as the relatively less volatile fraction;
(16) control means configured to recover most components of the relatively less volatile oil by adjusting the amounts and temperatures of the feed streams to the absorbing means to maintain the temperature of the upper portion of the absorbing means at a predetermined temperature Including, the device. To separate the gas stream containing methane, C ₂ components, C ₃ components and bihydrocarbon components into a volatile residual gas fraction and a relatively less volatile fraction containing most of the C ₃ and bihydrocarbon components. In the apparatus,
(1) first heat exchange means for cooling said gas stream sufficiently to partially condense it;
(2) first separation means connected to said first heat exchange means to receive said partially condensed gas stream and separate it into a vapor stream and one or more liquid streams;
(3) first expansion means connected to said first separating means to receive said vapor stream and expand it to lower pressure for further cooling;
(4) absorbent means housed in the processing assembly and connected to the first expansion means to receive the expanded and cooled vapor stream as a bottom feed thereto;
(5) second expansion means connected to said first separating means to receive said at least one liquid strip and expand it to said lower pressure;
(6) first liquid collecting means housed in said processing assembly and connected to said absorbing means to receive a first distillation liquid stream from the bottom of said absorbing means;
(7) mass transfer means received in said processing assembly and connected to said first liquid collection means to receive said first distillation liquid stream as a top feed thereto;
(8) first vapor collection means housed in said processing assembly and connected to said mass transfer means to receive a first distillation vapor stream from the top of said mass transfer means;
(9) second heat exchange means connected to said first vapor collection means to receive said first distillation vapor stream and cool it sufficiently to condense at least a portion thereof;
(10) a residual vapor stream connected to said second heat exchange means to receive said at least partially condensed first distillation vapor stream and contain all uncondensed vapor remaining after said first distillation vapor stream has cooled; Second separating means for separating into a condensed stream;
(11) said absorbing means is further connected to said second separating means to receive at least a portion of said condensed stream as a top feed thereto;
(12) second vapor collection means housed in said processing assembly and connected to said absorbing means to receive a second distillation vapor stream from the top of said absorbing means;
(13) said second heat exchange means being further connected to said second vapor collection means to receive and heat said second distillation vapor stream to supply at least a portion of the cooling of step (9);
(14) combining means connected to said second heat exchange means and said second separating means to receive said heated second distillation vapor stream and all said residual vapor stream and form a combined vapor stream;
(15) said first heat exchange means being further connected to said combining means to receive and heat said combined vapor stream to supply at least a portion of the cooling of step (1) and thereafter said heated combined steam Evacuating the stream as the volatile residual gas fraction;
(16) said first heat exchange means being further connected to said second expansion means to receive and heat said expanded one or more liquid streams to supply at least a portion of the cooling of step (1), said first heat exchange Means is further connected to the mass transfer means to supply the heated and expanded one or more liquid streams as a bottom feed thereto;
(17) second liquid collecting means housed in said processing assembly and connected to said mass transfer means to receive a second distillation liquid stream from the bottom of said mass transfer means;
(18) received in the processing assembly and connected to the second liquid collection means to receive and heat the second distillation liquid stream, while simultaneously stripping more volatile components from the second distillation liquid stream, and then Heat and mass transfer means for discharging a heated and stripped second distillation liquid stream from the processing assembly as the relatively less volatile fraction;
(19) control means configured to recover most components of the relatively less volatile oil by adjusting the amounts and temperatures of the feed streams to the absorbing means to maintain the temperature of the upper portion of the absorbing means at a predetermined temperature Including, the device. To separate the gas stream containing methane, C ₂ components, C ₃ components and bihydrocarbon components into a volatile residual gas fraction and a relatively less volatile fraction containing most of the C ₃ and bihydrocarbon components. In the apparatus,
(1) first heat exchange means for cooling said gas stream;
(2) expansion means connected to said first heat exchange means to receive said cooled gas stream and expand it to lower pressure;
(3) absorbent means housed in a processing assembly and connected to said expansion means to receive said expanded and cooled gas stream as a bottom feed thereto;
(4) first liquid collecting means housed in said processing assembly and connected to said absorbing means to receive a first distillation liquid stream from the bottom of said absorbing means;
(5) second heat exchange means connected to said first liquid collecting means to receive said first distillate liquid stream and heat it;
(6) mass transfer means housed in said processing assembly and connected to said second heat exchange means to receive said heated first distillation liquid stream as a top feed thereto;
(7) first vapor collection means housed in said processing assembly and connected to said mass transfer means to receive a first distillation vapor stream from the top of said mass transfer means;
(8) said second heat exchange means being further connected to said first vapor gathering means to receive said first distillation vapor stream and cool it sufficiently to condense at least part thereof, thereby at least part of the heating of step (5) Supplying;
(9) a residual vapor stream connected to said second heat exchange means to receive said at least partially condensed first distillation vapor stream and contain all uncondensed vapor remaining after said first distillation vapor stream has cooled; Separating means for separating into a condensed stream;
(10) said absorbing means is further connected to said separating means to receive at least a portion of said condensed stream as a top feed thereto;
(11) second vapor collection means housed in said processing assembly and connected to said absorbing means to receive a second distillation vapor stream from the top of said absorbing means;
(12) said second heat exchange means being further connected to said second vapor collection means to receive and heat said second distillation vapor stream to supply at least a portion of the cooling of step (8);
(13) combining means connected to said second heat exchange means and said separating means to receive said heated second distillation vapor stream and all said residual vapor stream and form a combined vapor stream;
(14) said first heat exchange means being further connected to said combining means to receive and heat said combined vapor stream to supply at least a portion of the cooling of step (1) and thereafter said heated combined steam; Evacuating the stream as the volatile residual gas fraction;
(15) second liquid collecting means housed in said processing assembly and connected to said mass transfer means to receive a second distillation liquid stream from the bottom of said mass transfer means;
(16) received in the processing assembly and connected to the second liquid collecting means to receive and heat the second distillation liquid stream, while stripping more volatile components from the second distillation liquid stream, and subsequently Heat and mass transfer means for discharging a heated and stripped second distillation liquid stream from the processing assembly as the relatively less volatile fraction;
(17) control means configured to recover most components of the relatively less volatile oil by adjusting the amounts and temperatures of the feed streams to the absorbing means to maintain the temperature of the upper portion of the absorbing means at a predetermined temperature Including, the device. To separate the gas stream containing methane, C ₂ components, C ₃ components and bihydrocarbon components into a volatile residual gas fraction and a relatively less volatile fraction containing most of the C ₃ and bihydrocarbon components. In the apparatus,
(1) first heat exchange means for cooling said gas stream sufficiently to partially condense it;
(2) first separation means connected to said first heat exchange means to receive said partially condensed gas stream and separate it into a vapor stream and one or more liquid streams;
(3) first expansion means connected to said first separating means to receive said vapor stream and expand it to lower pressure for further cooling;
(4) absorbent means housed in the processing assembly and connected to the first expansion means to receive the expanded and cooled vapor stream as a bottom feed thereto;
(5) second pressure means connected to said first separating means to receive said at least one liquid stream and expand it to lower pressure;
(6) first liquid collecting means housed in said processing assembly and connected to said absorbing means to receive a first distillation liquid stream from the bottom of said absorbing means;
(7) second heat exchange means connected to said first liquid collecting means to receive said first distillate liquid stream and heat it;
(8) mass transfer means received in said processing assembly and connected to said second heat exchange means to receive said heated first distillation liquid stream as a top feed thereto;
(9) first vapor collection means housed in said processing assembly and connected to said mass transfer means to receive a first distillation vapor stream from the top of said mass transfer means;
(10) said second heat exchange means being further connected to said first vapor collecting means to receive said first distillation vapor stream and cool it sufficiently to condense at least a portion thereof, thereby at least part of the heating of step (7) Supplying;
(11) a residual vapor stream connected to said second heat exchange means to receive said at least partially condensed first distillation vapor stream and contain all uncondensed vapor remaining after said first distillation vapor stream has cooled; Second separating means for separating into a condensed stream;
(12) said absorbing means is further connected to said second separating means to receive at least a portion of said condensed stream as a top feed thereto;
(13) second vapor collection means housed in said processing assembly and connected to said absorbing means to receive a second distillation vapor stream from the top of said absorbing means;
(14) said second heat exchange means being further connected to said second vapor collecting means to receive and heat said second distillation vapor stream to supply at least a portion of the cooling of step (10);
(15) combining means connected to said second heat exchange means and said second separating means to receive said heated second distillation vapor stream and all said residual vapor stream and form a combined vapor stream;
(16) said first heat exchange means being further connected to said combining means to receive and heat said combined vapor stream to supply at least a portion of the cooling of step (1) and thereafter said heated combined steam; Evacuating the stream as the volatile residual gas fraction;
(17) said first heat exchange means being further connected to said second expansion means to receive and heat said expanded one or more liquid streams to supply at least a portion of the cooling of step (1), said first heat exchange Means is further connected to the mass transfer means to supply the heated and expanded one or more liquid streams as a bottom feed thereto;
(18) second liquid collecting means housed in said processing assembly and connected to said mass transfer means to receive a second distillation liquid stream from the bottom of said mass transfer means;
(19) received in the processing assembly and connected to the second liquid collecting means to receive and heat the second distillation liquid stream, while simultaneously stripping more volatile components from the second distillation liquid stream, and then Heat and mass transfer means for discharging a heated and stripped second distillation liquid stream from the processing assembly as the relatively less volatile fraction;
(20) control means configured to recover most components of the relatively less volatile oil by adjusting the amounts and temperatures of the feed streams to the absorbing means to maintain the temperature of the upper portion of the absorbing means at a predetermined temperature. Including, the device. To separate the gas stream containing methane, C ₂ components, C ₃ components and bihydrocarbon components into a volatile residual gas fraction and a relatively less volatile fraction containing most of the C ₃ and bihydrocarbon components. In the apparatus,
(1) first heat exchange means for partially cooling said gas stream;
(2) dividing means connected to said first heat exchange means to receive said partially cooled gas stream and divide it into first and second portions;
(3) first heat and mass transfer means housed in the first separating means and connected to the dividing means to receive and further cool the first portion while condensing all less volatile components from the first portion;
(4) said first heat exchange means being further connected to said dividing means to receive said second portion and further cool it;
(5) first combining means connected to said first heat and mass transfer means and said first heat exchange means to receive said further cooled first portion and said further cooled second portion and form a cooled gas stream; ;
(6) expansion means connected to said first combining means to receive said cooled gas stream and expand it to lower pressure;
(7) absorbing means housed in a processing assembly and connected to said expansion means to receive said expanded and cooled gas stream as a bottom feed thereto;
(8) first liquid collecting means housed in said processing assembly and connected to said absorbing means to receive a first distillation liquid stream from the bottom of said absorbing means;
(9) said first heat and mass transfer means being further connected to said first liquid collection means to receive and heat said distillation liquid stream to supply at least a portion of the cooling of step (3);
(10) mass transfer means received in said processing assembly and connected to said first heat and mass transfer means to receive said heated first distillation liquid stream as a top feed thereto;
(11) first vapor collection means housed in said processing assembly and connected to said mass transfer means to receive a first distillation vapor stream from the top of said mass transfer means;
(12) said second heat exchange means being further connected to said first vapor collection means to receive said first distillation vapor stream and cool it sufficiently to condense at least a portion thereof;
(13) a residual vapor stream connected to said second heat exchange means to receive said at least partially condensed first distillation vapor stream and contain all uncondensed vapor remaining after said first distillation vapor stream has cooled; Second separating means for separating into a condensed stream;
(14) said absorbing means is further connected to said second separating means to receive at least a portion of said condensed stream as a top feed thereto;
(15) second vapor collecting means housed in said processing assembly and connected to said absorbing means to receive a second distillation vapor stream from the top of said absorbing means;
(16) said second heat exchange means being further connected to said second vapor collection means to receive and heat said second distillation vapor stream to supply at least a portion of the cooling of step (12);
(17) second combining means connected to said second heat exchange means and said second separating means to receive said heated second distillation vapor stream and all said residual vapor streams and form a combined vapor stream;
(18) said first heat exchange means being further connected to said second combining means to receive and heat said combined vapor stream to supply at least a portion of the cooling of steps (1) and (4), and Evacuating the heated combined vapor stream as the volatile residual gas fraction;
(19) second liquid collecting means housed in said processing assembly and connected to said mass transfer means to receive a second distillation liquid stream from the bottom of said mass transfer means;
(20) received in the processing assembly and connected to the second liquid collection means to receive and heat the second distillation liquid stream, while simultaneously stripping more volatile components from the second distillation liquid stream, and then Second heat and mass transfer means for discharging a heated and stripped second stream of distillate liquid from the processing assembly as the relatively less volatile fraction;
(21) control means configured to recover most components of the relatively less volatile oil by adjusting the amounts and temperatures of the feed streams to the absorbing means to maintain the temperature of the upper portion of the absorbing means at a predetermined temperature. Including, the device. To separate the gas stream containing methane, C ₂ components, C ₃ components and bihydrocarbon components into a volatile residual gas fraction and a relatively less volatile fraction containing most of the C ₃ and bihydrocarbon components. In the apparatus,
(1) first heat exchange means for partially cooling said gas stream;
(2) dividing means connected to said first heat exchange means to receive said partially cooled gas stream and divide it into first and second portions;
(3) first heat and mass transfer means housed in the first separating means and connected to the dividing means to receive and further cool the first portion while condensing all less volatile components from the first portion;
(4) said first heat exchange means being further connected to said dividing means to receive said second portion and further cool it;
(5) said first separating means being further connected to said first heat exchange means to receive said further cooled second portion so that said first portion is further cooled and said second portion is further cooled. When all the condensed liquids are combined to form one or more liquid streams, and the remainder of the further cooled first portion and the further cooled second portion forms a vapor stream;
(6) first expansion means connected to said first separating means to receive said vapor stream and expand it to lower pressure for further cooling;
(7) absorbent means housed in a processing assembly and connected to said first expansion means to receive said expanded and cooled vapor stream as a bottom feed thereto;
(8) second expansion means connected to said first separating means to receive said at least one liquid stream and expand it to said lower pressure;
(9) first liquid collecting means housed in said processing assembly and connected to said absorbing means to receive a first distillation liquid stream from the bottom of said absorbing means;
(10) said first heat and mass transfer means being further connected to said first liquid collection means to receive and heat said first distillation liquid stream to supply at least a portion of the cooling of step (3);
(11) mass transfer means housed in said processing assembly and connected to said first heat and mass transfer means to receive said heated first distillation liquid stream as a top feed thereto;
(12) first vapor collection means housed in said processing assembly and connected to said mass transfer means to receive a first distillation vapor stream from the top of said mass transfer means;
(13) second heat exchange means connected to said first vapor collection means to receive said first distillation vapor stream and cool it sufficiently to at least partially condense it;
(14) The second separating means is connected to the second heat exchange means to receive the at least partially condensed first distillation vapor stream and includes all uncondensed vapor remaining after the first distillation vapor stream has cooled down. Second separating means for separating the residual vapor stream into a condensed stream;
(15) said absorbing means is further connected to said second separating means to receive at least a portion of said condensed stream as a top feed thereto;
(16) second vapor collection means housed in said processing assembly and connected to said absorbing means to receive a second distillation vapor stream from the top of said absorbing means;
(17) said second heat exchange means being further connected to said second vapor collection means to receive and heat said second distillation vapor stream to supply at least a portion of the cooling of step (13);
(18) combining means connected to said second heat exchange means and said second separating means to receive said heated second distillation vapor stream and all said residual vapor stream and form a combined vapor stream;
(19) said first heat exchange means being further connected to said combining means to receive and heat said combined vapor stream to supply at least a portion of the cooling of steps (1) and (4), after which said Evacuating the heated combined vapor stream as the volatile residual gas fraction;
(20) said first heat exchange means being further connected to said second expansion means to receive and heat said expanded one or more liquid streams to supply at least a portion of the cooling of step (1), said first heat exchange Means is further connected to the mass transfer means to supply the heated and expanded one or more liquid streams as a bottom feed thereto;
(21) second liquid collecting means housed in said processing assembly and connected to said mass transfer means to receive a second distillation liquid stream from the bottom of said mass transfer means;
(22) received in the processing assembly and connected to the second liquid collecting means to receive and heat the second distillation liquid stream, while simultaneously stripping more volatile components from the second distillation liquid stream, and then Second heat and mass transfer means for discharging a heated and stripped second stream of distillate liquid from the processing assembly as the relatively less volatile fraction;
(23) control means configured to recover most components of the relatively less volatile fraction by adjusting the amounts and temperatures of the feed streams to the absorbing means to maintain the temperature of the upper portion of the absorbing means at a predetermined temperature Including, the device. To separate the gas stream containing methane, C ₂ components, C ₃ components and bihydrocarbon components into a volatile residual gas fraction and a relatively less volatile fraction containing most of the C ₃ and bihydrocarbon components. In the apparatus,
(1) first heat exchange means for partially cooling said gas stream;
(2) dividing means connected to said first heat exchange means to receive said partially cooled gas stream and divide it into first and second portions;
(3) second heat exchange means connected to said dividing means to receive said first portion and further cool it;
(4) said first heat exchange means being further connected to said dividing means to receive said second portion and further cool it;
(5) first combining means connected to said second heat exchange means and said first heat exchange means to receive said further cooled first portion and said further cooled second portion and form a cooled gas stream;
(6) expansion means connected to said first combining means to receive said cooled gas stream and expand it to lower pressure;
(7) absorbing means housed in a processing assembly and connected to said expansion means to receive said expanded and cooled gas stream as a bottom feed thereto;
(8) first liquid collecting means housed in said processing assembly and connected to said absorbing means to receive a first distillation liquid stream from the bottom of said absorbing means;
(9) said second heat exchange means being further connected to said first liquid collection means to receive and heat said first distillation liquid stream to supply at least a portion of the cooling of step (3);
(10) mass transfer means received in said processing assembly and connected to said second heat exchange means to receive said heated first distillation liquid stream as a top feed;
(11) first vapor collection means housed in said processing assembly and connected to said mass transfer means to receive a first distillation vapor stream from the top of said mass transfer means;
(12) third heat exchange means connected to said first vapor collecting means to receive said first distillation vapor stream and cool it sufficiently to condense at least a portion thereof;
(13) a residual vapor stream connected to said third heat exchange means to receive said at least partially condensed first distillation vapor stream and contain all uncondensed vapor remaining after said first distillation vapor stream has cooled; Separating means for separating into a condensed stream;
(14) said absorbing means is further connected to said separating means to receive at least a portion of said condensed stream as a top feed thereto;
(15) second vapor collecting means housed in said processing assembly and connected to said absorbing means to receive a second distillation vapor stream from the top of said absorbing means;
(16) said third heat exchange means being further connected to said second vapor collecting means to receive and heat said second distillation vapor stream to supply at least a portion of the cooling of step (12);
(17) second combining means connected to said third heat exchange means and said separating means to receive said heated second distillation vapor stream and all said residual vapor stream and form a combined vapor stream;
(18) said first heat exchange means being further connected to said second combining means to receive and heat said combined vapor stream to supply at least a portion of the cooling of steps (1) and (4), and Evacuating the heated combined vapor stream as the volatile residual gas fraction;
(19) second liquid collecting means housed in said processing assembly and connected to said mass transfer means to receive a second distillation liquid stream from the bottom of said mass transfer means;
(20) received in the processing assembly and connected to the second liquid collection means to receive and heat the second distillation liquid stream, while simultaneously stripping more volatile components from the second distillation liquid stream, and then Heat and mass transfer means for discharging a heated and stripped second distillation liquid stream from the processing assembly as the relatively less volatile fraction;
(21) control means configured to recover most components of the relatively less volatile oil by adjusting the amounts and temperatures of the feed streams to the absorbing means to maintain the temperature of the upper portion of the absorbing means at a predetermined temperature. Including, the device. To separate the gas stream containing methane, C ₂ components, C ₃ components and bihydrocarbon components into a volatile residual gas fraction and a relatively less volatile fraction containing most of the C ₃ and bihydrocarbon components. In the apparatus,
(1) first heat exchange means for partially cooling said gas stream;
(2) dividing means connected to said first heat exchange means to receive said partially cooled gas stream and divide it into first and second portions;
(3) second heat exchange means connected to said dividing means to receive said first portion and further cool it;
(4) said first heat exchange means being further connected to said dividing means to receive said second portion and further cool it;
(5) first combining means connected to said second heat exchange means and said first heat exchange means to receive said further cooled first portion and said further cooled second portion and form a partially condensed gas stream; ;
(6) first separating means connected to said first combining means to receive said partially condensed gas strip and separate it into a vapor stream and one or more liquid streams;
(7) first expansion means connected to said first separating means to receive said vapor stream and expand it to lower pressure for further cooling;
(8) absorbing means housed in a processing assembly and connected to said expansion means to receive said expanded and cooled vapor stream as a bottom feed thereto;
(9) second expansion means connected to said first separating means and receiving said at least one liquid stream and expanding it to said lower pressure;
(10) first liquid collecting means housed in said processing assembly and connected to said absorbing means to receive a first distillation liquid stream from the bottom of said absorbing means;
(11) said second heat exchange means being further connected to said first liquid collection means to receive and heat said first distillation liquid stream to supply at least a portion of the cooling of step (3);
(12) mass transfer means housed in said processing assembly and connected to said second heat exchange means to receive said heated first distillation liquid stream as a top feed;
(13) first vapor collection means housed in said processing assembly and connected to said mass transfer means to receive a first distillation vapor stream from the top of said mass transfer means;
(14) third heat exchange means connected to said first vapor collection means to receive said first distillation vapor stream and cool it sufficiently to condense at least a portion thereof;
(15) a residual vapor stream connected to said third heat exchange means to receive said at least partially condensed first distillation vapor stream and contain all uncondensed vapor remaining after said first distillation vapor stream has cooled; Second separating means for separating into a condensed stream;
(16) said absorbing means is further connected to said second separating means to receive at least a portion of said condensed stream as a top feed thereto;
(17) second vapor collection means housed in said processing assembly and connected to said absorbing means to receive a second distillation vapor stream from the top of said absorbing means;
(18) said third heat exchange means being further connected to said second vapor collection means to receive and heat said second distillation vapor stream to supply at least a portion of the cooling of step (14);
(19) second combining means connected to said third heat exchange means and said second separating means to receive said heated second distillation vapor stream and all said residual vapor streams and form a combined vapor stream;
(20) said first heat exchange means being further connected to said second combining means to receive and heat said combined vapor stream to supply at least a portion of the cooling of steps (1) and (4), and Evacuating the heated combined vapor stream as the volatile residual gas fraction;
(21) said first heat exchange means being further connected to said second expansion means to receive and heat said expanded one or more liquid streams to supply at least a portion of the cooling of step (1), said first heat exchange Means is further connected to the mass transfer means to supply the heated and expanded one or more liquid streams as a bottom feed thereto;
(22) second liquid collecting means housed in said processing assembly and connected to said mass transfer means to receive a second distillation liquid stream from the bottom of said mass transfer means;
(23) received in the processing assembly and connected to the second liquid collecting means to receive and heat the second distillation liquid stream while simultaneously stripping more volatile components from the second distillation liquid stream, and then Heat and mass transfer means for discharging a heated and stripped second distillation liquid stream from the processing assembly as the relatively less volatile fraction;
(24) control means configured to recover most components of the relatively less volatile oil by adjusting the amounts and temperatures of the feed streams to the absorbing means to maintain the temperature of the upper portion of the absorbing means at a predetermined temperature. Including, the device. 27. The method of claim 24,
And the first separating means is housed in the processing assembly. 27. The method of claim 26,
And the first separating means is housed in the processing assembly. The method of claim 27 or 28,
And the first separating means is housed in the processing assembly. 32. The method of claim 30,
And the first separating means is housed in the processing assembly. 26. The method of claim 25,
(1) said mass transfer means is configured to be connected to said second heat exchange means to receive said heated first distillation liquid stream in an intermediate feed position;
(2) dividing means is connected to said dividing means to receive said condensed stream and divide it into at least first and second reflux streams;
(3) said absorbing means is configured to be connected to said dividing means to receive said first reflux stream as said top feed thereto;
(4) said mass transfer means is configured to be connected to said dividing means to receive said second reflux stream as said top feed thereto. The method of claim 29,
(1) said mass transfer means is configured to be connected to said second heat exchange means to receive said heated first distillation liquid stream in an intermediate feed position;
(2) an additional dividing means is connected to said separating means to receive said condensed stream and divide it into at least first and second reflux streams;
(3) said absorbing means is configured to be connected to said further dividing means to receive said first reflux stream as said top feed thereto;
(4) said mass transfer means is configured to be connected to said further dividing means to receive said second reflux stream as said top feed thereto. 27. The method of claim 26,
(1) said mass transfer means is configured to be connected to said second heat exchange means to receive said heated first distillation liquid stream in an intermediate feed position;
(2) the dividing means is connected to the second separating means to receive the condensed stream and divide it into at least first and second reflux streams;
(3) said absorbing means is configured to be connected to said dividing means to receive said first reflux stream as said top feed thereto;
(4) said mass transfer means is configured to be connected to said dividing means to receive said second reflux stream as said top feed thereto. The method of claim 27 or 28,
(1) said mass transfer means is configured to be connected to said first heat and mass transfer means to receive said heated first distillation liquid stream at an intermediate feed position;
(2) an additional dividing means is connected to said second separating means to receive said condensed stream and divide it into at least first and second reflux streams;
(3) said absorbing means is configured to be connected to said further dividing means to receive said first reflux stream as said top feed thereto;
(4) said mass transfer means is configured to be connected to said further dividing means to receive said second reflux stream as said top feed thereto. The method of claim 30 or 34,
(1) said mass transfer means is configured to be connected to said second heat exchange means to receive said heated first distillation liquid stream in an intermediate feed position;
(2) an additional dividing means is connected to said second separating means to receive said condensed stream and divide it into at least first and second reflux streams;
(3) said absorbing means is configured to be connected to said further dividing means to receive said first reflux stream as said top feed thereto;
(4) said mass transfer means is configured to be connected to said further dividing means to receive said second reflux stream as said top feed thereto. The method according to claim 32,
(1) said mass transfer means is configured to be connected to said second heat exchange means to receive said heated first distillation liquid stream in an intermediate feed position;
(2) dividing means is connected to said dividing means to receive said condensed stream and divide it into at least first and second reflux streams;
(3) said absorbing means is configured to be connected to said dividing means to receive said first reflux stream as said top feed thereto;
(4) said mass transfer means is configured to be connected to said dividing means to receive said second reflux stream as said top feed thereto. The method according to claim 33,
(1) said mass transfer means is configured to be connected to said first heat and mass transfer means to receive said heated first distillation liquid stream at an intermediate feed position;
(2) an additional dividing means is connected to said second separating means to receive said condensed stream and divide it into at least first and second reflux streams;
(3) said absorbing means is configured to be connected to said further dividing means to receive said first reflux stream as said top feed thereto;
(4) said mass transfer means is configured to be connected to said further dividing means to receive said second reflux stream as said top feed thereto. The method according to any one of claims 23, 25 or 35,
(1) gas collection means is housed in the processing assembly;
(2) additional heat and mass transfer means are included in the gas collection means, the additional heat and mass transfer means including one or more paths for an external refrigeration medium;
(3) said gas collecting means is connected to said first heat exchange means to receive said cooled gas stream and send it to said additional heat and mass transfer means for further cooling by said external refrigeration medium;
(4) said expansion means being connected to said gas collecting means to receive said further cooled gas stream and expand it to said lower pressure, said expansion means being further connected to said absorbing means to expand and further The cooled gas stream is supplied as the bottom feed thereto. The method of claim 29 or 36,
(1) gas collection means is housed in the processing assembly;
(2) additional heat and mass transfer means are included in the gas collection means, the additional heat and mass transfer means including one or more paths for an external refrigeration medium;
(3) said gas collecting means is connected to said first combining means to receive said cooled gas stream and send it to said additional heat and mass transfer means for further cooling by said external refrigeration medium;
(4) said expansion means being connected to said gas collecting means to receive said further cooled gas stream and expand it to said lower pressure, said expansion means being further connected to said absorbing means to expand and further The cooled gas stream is supplied as the bottom feed thereto. The method according to any one of claims 24, 26, 30, 31, 32, 34, 37 or 40,
(1) additional heat and mass transfer means are included in the first separation means, the additional heat and mass transfer means including one or more pathways for an external refrigeration medium;
(2) said vapor stream is sent to said additional heat and mass transfer means to be cooled by said external refrigeration medium and form additional condensate;
(3) the condensate becomes part of the one or more liquid streams separated therein. 42. The method of claim 39,
(1) additional heat and mass transfer means are included in the first separation means, the additional heat and mass transfer means including one or more pathways for an external refrigeration medium;
(2) said vapor stream is sent to said additional heat and mass transfer means to be cooled by said external refrigeration medium and form additional condensate;
(3) the condensate becomes part of the one or more liquid streams separated therein.

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