US20140026615A1 - Configurations and methods for deep feed gas hydrocarbon dewpointing - Google Patents

Configurations and methods for deep feed gas hydrocarbon dewpointing Download PDF

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US20140026615A1
US20140026615A1 US13/559,335 US201213559335A US2014026615A1 US 20140026615 A1 US20140026615 A1 US 20140026615A1 US 201213559335 A US201213559335 A US 201213559335A US 2014026615 A1 US2014026615 A1 US 2014026615A1
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fractionator
feed gas
pressure
upper section
lower section
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John Mak
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Fluor Technologies Corp
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Fluor Technologies Corp
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Priority to PCT/US2012/048373 priority Critical patent/WO2014018045A1/fr
Priority to US13/559,335 priority patent/US20140026615A1/en
Assigned to FLUOR TECHNOLOGIES CORPORATION reassignment FLUOR TECHNOLOGIES CORPORATION ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNORS INTEREST (SEE DOCUMENT FOR DETAILS). Assignors: MAK, JOHN
Publication of US20140026615A1 publication Critical patent/US20140026615A1/en
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    • F—MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
    • F25—REFRIGERATION OR COOLING; COMBINED HEATING AND REFRIGERATION SYSTEMS; HEAT PUMP SYSTEMS; MANUFACTURE OR STORAGE OF ICE; LIQUEFACTION SOLIDIFICATION OF GASES
    • F25J—LIQUEFACTION, SOLIDIFICATION OR SEPARATION OF GASES OR GASEOUS OR LIQUEFIED GASEOUS MIXTURES BY PRESSURE AND COLD TREATMENT OR BY BRINGING THEM INTO THE SUPERCRITICAL STATE
    • F25J3/00—Processes or apparatus for separating the constituents of gaseous or liquefied gaseous mixtures involving the use of liquefaction or solidification
    • F25J3/02—Processes or apparatus for separating the constituents of gaseous or liquefied gaseous mixtures involving the use of liquefaction or solidification by rectification, i.e. by continuous interchange of heat and material between a vapour stream and a liquid stream
    • F25J3/0228—Processes or apparatus for separating the constituents of gaseous or liquefied gaseous mixtures involving the use of liquefaction or solidification by rectification, i.e. by continuous interchange of heat and material between a vapour stream and a liquid stream characterised by the separated product stream
    • F25J3/0242—Processes or apparatus for separating the constituents of gaseous or liquefied gaseous mixtures involving the use of liquefaction or solidification by rectification, i.e. by continuous interchange of heat and material between a vapour stream and a liquid stream characterised by the separated product stream separation of CnHm with 3 carbon atoms or more
    • C—CHEMISTRY; METALLURGY
    • C10—PETROLEUM, GAS OR COKE INDUSTRIES; TECHNICAL GASES CONTAINING CARBON MONOXIDE; FUELS; LUBRICANTS; PEAT
    • C10L—FUELS NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR; NATURAL GAS; SYNTHETIC NATURAL GAS OBTAINED BY PROCESSES NOT COVERED BY SUBCLASSES C10G, C10K; LIQUEFIED PETROLEUM GAS; ADDING MATERIALS TO FUELS OR FIRES TO REDUCE SMOKE OR UNDESIRABLE DEPOSITS OR TO FACILITATE SOOT REMOVAL; FIRELIGHTERS
    • C10L3/00—Gaseous fuels; Natural gas; Synthetic natural gas obtained by processes not covered by subclass C10G, C10K; Liquefied petroleum gas
    • C10L3/06—Natural gas; Synthetic natural gas obtained by processes not covered by C10G, C10K3/02 or C10K3/04
    • C10L3/10—Working-up natural gas or synthetic natural gas
    • F—MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
    • F25—REFRIGERATION OR COOLING; COMBINED HEATING AND REFRIGERATION SYSTEMS; HEAT PUMP SYSTEMS; MANUFACTURE OR STORAGE OF ICE; LIQUEFACTION SOLIDIFICATION OF GASES
    • F25J—LIQUEFACTION, SOLIDIFICATION OR SEPARATION OF GASES OR GASEOUS OR LIQUEFIED GASEOUS MIXTURES BY PRESSURE AND COLD TREATMENT OR BY BRINGING THEM INTO THE SUPERCRITICAL STATE
    • F25J3/00—Processes or apparatus for separating the constituents of gaseous or liquefied gaseous mixtures involving the use of liquefaction or solidification
    • F25J3/02—Processes or apparatus for separating the constituents of gaseous or liquefied gaseous mixtures involving the use of liquefaction or solidification by rectification, i.e. by continuous interchange of heat and material between a vapour stream and a liquid stream
    • F25J3/0204—Processes or apparatus for separating the constituents of gaseous or liquefied gaseous mixtures involving the use of liquefaction or solidification by rectification, i.e. by continuous interchange of heat and material between a vapour stream and a liquid stream characterised by the feed stream
    • F25J3/0209—Natural gas or substitute natural gas
    • F—MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
    • F25—REFRIGERATION OR COOLING; COMBINED HEATING AND REFRIGERATION SYSTEMS; HEAT PUMP SYSTEMS; MANUFACTURE OR STORAGE OF ICE; LIQUEFACTION SOLIDIFICATION OF GASES
    • F25J—LIQUEFACTION, SOLIDIFICATION OR SEPARATION OF GASES OR GASEOUS OR LIQUEFIED GASEOUS MIXTURES BY PRESSURE AND COLD TREATMENT OR BY BRINGING THEM INTO THE SUPERCRITICAL STATE
    • F25J3/00—Processes or apparatus for separating the constituents of gaseous or liquefied gaseous mixtures involving the use of liquefaction or solidification
    • F25J3/02—Processes or apparatus for separating the constituents of gaseous or liquefied gaseous mixtures involving the use of liquefaction or solidification by rectification, i.e. by continuous interchange of heat and material between a vapour stream and a liquid stream
    • F25J3/0228—Processes or apparatus for separating the constituents of gaseous or liquefied gaseous mixtures involving the use of liquefaction or solidification by rectification, i.e. by continuous interchange of heat and material between a vapour stream and a liquid stream characterised by the separated product stream
    • F25J3/0233—Processes or apparatus for separating the constituents of gaseous or liquefied gaseous mixtures involving the use of liquefaction or solidification by rectification, i.e. by continuous interchange of heat and material between a vapour stream and a liquid stream characterised by the separated product stream separation of CnHm with 1 carbon atom or more
    • F—MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
    • F25—REFRIGERATION OR COOLING; COMBINED HEATING AND REFRIGERATION SYSTEMS; HEAT PUMP SYSTEMS; MANUFACTURE OR STORAGE OF ICE; LIQUEFACTION SOLIDIFICATION OF GASES
    • F25J—LIQUEFACTION, SOLIDIFICATION OR SEPARATION OF GASES OR GASEOUS OR LIQUEFIED GASEOUS MIXTURES BY PRESSURE AND COLD TREATMENT OR BY BRINGING THEM INTO THE SUPERCRITICAL STATE
    • F25J2200/00—Processes or apparatus using separation by rectification
    • F25J2200/04—Processes or apparatus using separation by rectification in a dual pressure main column system
    • F—MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
    • F25—REFRIGERATION OR COOLING; COMBINED HEATING AND REFRIGERATION SYSTEMS; HEAT PUMP SYSTEMS; MANUFACTURE OR STORAGE OF ICE; LIQUEFACTION SOLIDIFICATION OF GASES
    • F25J—LIQUEFACTION, SOLIDIFICATION OR SEPARATION OF GASES OR GASEOUS OR LIQUEFIED GASEOUS MIXTURES BY PRESSURE AND COLD TREATMENT OR BY BRINGING THEM INTO THE SUPERCRITICAL STATE
    • F25J2200/00—Processes or apparatus using separation by rectification
    • F25J2200/70—Refluxing the column with a condensed part of the feed stream, i.e. fractionator top is stripped or self-rectified
    • F—MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
    • F25—REFRIGERATION OR COOLING; COMBINED HEATING AND REFRIGERATION SYSTEMS; HEAT PUMP SYSTEMS; MANUFACTURE OR STORAGE OF ICE; LIQUEFACTION SOLIDIFICATION OF GASES
    • F25J—LIQUEFACTION, SOLIDIFICATION OR SEPARATION OF GASES OR GASEOUS OR LIQUEFIED GASEOUS MIXTURES BY PRESSURE AND COLD TREATMENT OR BY BRINGING THEM INTO THE SUPERCRITICAL STATE
    • F25J2200/00—Processes or apparatus using separation by rectification
    • F25J2200/78—Refluxing the column with a liquid stream originating from an upstream or downstream fractionator column
    • F—MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
    • F25—REFRIGERATION OR COOLING; COMBINED HEATING AND REFRIGERATION SYSTEMS; HEAT PUMP SYSTEMS; MANUFACTURE OR STORAGE OF ICE; LIQUEFACTION SOLIDIFICATION OF GASES
    • F25J—LIQUEFACTION, SOLIDIFICATION OR SEPARATION OF GASES OR GASEOUS OR LIQUEFIED GASEOUS MIXTURES BY PRESSURE AND COLD TREATMENT OR BY BRINGING THEM INTO THE SUPERCRITICAL STATE
    • F25J2205/00—Processes or apparatus using other separation and/or other processing means
    • F25J2205/02—Processes or apparatus using other separation and/or other processing means using simple phase separation in a vessel or drum
    • F25J2205/04—Processes or apparatus using other separation and/or other processing means using simple phase separation in a vessel or drum in the feed line, i.e. upstream of the fractionation step
    • F—MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
    • F25—REFRIGERATION OR COOLING; COMBINED HEATING AND REFRIGERATION SYSTEMS; HEAT PUMP SYSTEMS; MANUFACTURE OR STORAGE OF ICE; LIQUEFACTION SOLIDIFICATION OF GASES
    • F25J—LIQUEFACTION, SOLIDIFICATION OR SEPARATION OF GASES OR GASEOUS OR LIQUEFIED GASEOUS MIXTURES BY PRESSURE AND COLD TREATMENT OR BY BRINGING THEM INTO THE SUPERCRITICAL STATE
    • F25J2235/00—Processes or apparatus involving steps for increasing the pressure or for conveying of liquid process streams
    • F25J2235/60—Processes or apparatus involving steps for increasing the pressure or for conveying of liquid process streams the fluid being (a mixture of) hydrocarbons
    • F—MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
    • F25—REFRIGERATION OR COOLING; COMBINED HEATING AND REFRIGERATION SYSTEMS; HEAT PUMP SYSTEMS; MANUFACTURE OR STORAGE OF ICE; LIQUEFACTION SOLIDIFICATION OF GASES
    • F25J—LIQUEFACTION, SOLIDIFICATION OR SEPARATION OF GASES OR GASEOUS OR LIQUEFIED GASEOUS MIXTURES BY PRESSURE AND COLD TREATMENT OR BY BRINGING THEM INTO THE SUPERCRITICAL STATE
    • F25J2240/00—Processes or apparatus involving steps for expanding of process streams
    • F25J2240/02—Expansion of a process fluid in a work-extracting turbine (i.e. isentropic expansion), e.g. of the feed stream
    • F—MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
    • F25—REFRIGERATION OR COOLING; COMBINED HEATING AND REFRIGERATION SYSTEMS; HEAT PUMP SYSTEMS; MANUFACTURE OR STORAGE OF ICE; LIQUEFACTION SOLIDIFICATION OF GASES
    • F25J—LIQUEFACTION, SOLIDIFICATION OR SEPARATION OF GASES OR GASEOUS OR LIQUEFIED GASEOUS MIXTURES BY PRESSURE AND COLD TREATMENT OR BY BRINGING THEM INTO THE SUPERCRITICAL STATE
    • F25J2290/00—Other details not covered by groups F25J2200/00 - F25J2280/00
    • F25J2290/40—Vertical layout or arrangement of cold equipments within in the cold box, e.g. columns, condensers, heat exchangers etc.

Definitions

  • the field of the invention is removal and recovery of natural gas liquids (NGL) from feed gases to meet pipeline hydrocarbon dew point and heating value specifications.
  • NTL natural gas liquids
  • NGL processing plants with high NGL recovery from a feed gas include cryogenic fractionation and turbo-expansion processes as described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,157,904 to Campbell et al., U.S. Pat. No. 4,251,249 to Gulsby, U.S. Pat. No. 4,617,039 to Buck, U.S. Pat. No. 4,690,702 to Paradowski et al., U.S. Pat. No. 5,275,005 to Campbell et al., U.S. Pat. No. 5,799,507 to Wilkinson et al., and U.S. Pat. No. 5,890,378 to Rambo et al., and U.S. Pat. App.
  • NGL recovery processes use high expansion ratio turboexpanders to produce low levels of refrigeration, which requires recompression of the residue gas.
  • additional external refrigeration is often required.
  • process configurations are complex and are difficult to operate.
  • Campbell et al. describe in U.S. Pat. No. 6,182,469 a plant in which feed gas is cooled in a heat exchanger using cold residue gas and side reboilers as depicted in Prior Art FIG. 1 .
  • the condensed feed gas liquids are then separated in a separator and fed to the demethanizer.
  • an absorber may be added upstream of a demethanizer as depicted in Prior Art FIG. 2 .
  • the liquids from the feed separator and the absorber bottoms are fed to the demethanizer
  • the absorber overhead is cooled and refluxed by chilling with the demethanizer overhead vapor.
  • the inventive subject matter is directed to configurations and methods of recovery of C4 and heavier hydrocarbons, and moderate recovery (up to 75%) of C3 from a gas stream to meet hydrocarbon dew point and heating value specification of a pipeline gas produced from the gas stream.
  • a method of hydrocarbon dew point adjustment of a natural gas that includes C3 and C4 and heavier components has a step of cooling the feed gas in a feed gas exchanger using a liquid phase of the cooled feed gas and an overhead product of an upper section of a fractionator.
  • the cooled feed gas is separated in a phase separator into the liquid phase and a vapor phase, and the liquid phase is fed into a lower section of a fractionator while the vapor phase is fed into the upper section of the fractionator.
  • the upper and lower sections of the fractionator are coupled to each other such that an expansion device (typically a JT valve) reduces pressure of and provides a vapor product of the lower section to the upper section, and such that a pump increases pressure of and provides a liquid product of the upper section to the lower section.
  • an expansion device typically a JT valve
  • the vapor product of the lower section is cooled in an overhead exchanger using refrigeration content in the overhead product of the upper section of the fractionator.
  • the fractionator is operated such that C3 recovery from the feed gas is between 60% and 80%, and recovery of the C4 and heavier components from the feed gas is at least 95%.
  • the fractionator is operated at a pressure of between 450 to 550 psig, and that the upper section is operated at a pressure that is at least 10 psig, and more typically at least 30 psig lower than the pressure of the lower section.
  • the upper section is operated at a temperature of ⁇ 65° F. to ⁇ 55° F. and that the lower section is operated at a temperature of 25° F. to 300° F.
  • contemplated methods will also include a step of expanding the vapor phase in a turbo expander and reducing pressure of the liquid phase in a second expansion device before feeding the vapor phase and the liquid phase into the upper and lower sections of the fractionator, respectively. While not limiting to the inventive subject matter, it is typically preferred that the feed gas cooling and/or cooling of the vapor product of the lower section is performed without use of external refrigeration.
  • a processing plant for hydrocarbon dew point control of a natural gas feed gas delivered from a feed gas source will include a feed gas exchanger that is fluidly coupled to the feed gas source and configured to cool the feed gas using a liquid phase of the cooled feed gas and an overhead product of an upper section of a fractionator.
  • Contemplated plants will also include a phase separator that is fluidly coupled to the feed gas exchanger and that is configured to separate the cooled feed gas into the liquid phase and a vapor phase.
  • the fractionator comprises a lower section that is configured to receive the liquid phase and an upper section configured to receive the vapor phase in the upper section.
  • Especially preferred fractionators have upper and lower sections coupled to each other such that an expansion device reduces pressure of and provides a vapor product of the lower section to the upper section, and such that a pump increases pressure of and provides a liquid product of the upper section to the lower section.
  • An overhead exchanger is included and configured to cool the vapor product using the overhead product of the upper section of the fractionator.
  • a second expansion device that is included and configured to receive and reduce pressure of the liquid phase
  • a turbo expander included and configured to receive and reduce pressure of the vapor phase.
  • the pump increases the pressure of the liquid product in an amount of at least 10 psig, and more typically at least 30 psig, and that the fractionator is configured to operate at a pressure of between 450 to 550 psig.
  • the upper section and the lower section of the fractionator are configured to operate at a pressure differential of at least 10 psig.
  • the upper section of the fractionator is configured to operate at a temperature of ⁇ 65° F. to ⁇ 55° F.
  • the lower section of the fractionator is configured to operate at a temperature of 25° F. to 300° F., and/or that the feed gas exchanger, the fractionator, and the expansion device are configured to allow for between 60% and 80% C3 recovery without use of external refrigeration.
  • FIG. 1 is a schematic of one known configuration for NGL recovery in which feed gas is cooled in a heat exchanger using cold residue gas and side reboilers.
  • FIG. 2 is a schematic of another known configuration for NGL recovery in which an absorber/fractionator column is positioned upstream of a demethanizer
  • FIG. 3 is a schematic of yet another known configuration for NGL recovery in which reboiler and feed gas compression are integrated in feed chilling.
  • FIG. 4 is a schematic of a further known configuration for NGL recovery in which reboiler and compressed residue gas recycle are integrated in feed chilling.
  • FIG. 5 is a schematic of an exemplary configuration for NGL recovery according to the inventive subject matter.
  • FIG. 6 is a table listing calculated compositions of gas streams in the exemplary NGL recovery plant of FIG. 5 .
  • the inventor has discovered various configurations and methods of NGL recovery in which capital and operating cost are significantly reduced, especially where a rich feed gas is processed and where C4+ recovery with moderate C3 recovery is required.
  • contemplated configurations and methods significantly reduce complexity and cost by reducing the number of equipment services, by elimination of external refrigeration, and lowering residue gas compression requirements.
  • the feed gas (typically a natural gas comprising C3, and C4 and heavier components) is cooled at relatively high pressure to thereby effect partial condensation.
  • the vapor and liquid phases are then separated, with the liquid phase being expanded to a lower pressure to so provide cooling to the feed gas.
  • the liquid phase is fed to the lower section of a fractionation column, while the vapor phase is expanded via a turboexpander and fed into the upper section of the fractionator.
  • relatively high pressures typically 450 to 550 psig
  • the fractionator is a single fractionation column that has at least two different pressure sections and a booster pump that is fluidly coupled between the sections to provide for the pressure differential and to pump liquid from the upper section (which is lower in pressure relative to the lower section) to the lower section, which produces a methane- and ethane-rich vapor stream.
  • the methane- and ethane-rich vapor stream is cooled and partially condensed by the fractionator overhead and then fed to the top section as the reflux.
  • Coupled to is intended to include both direct coupling (in which two elements that are coupled to each other contact each other) and indirect coupling (in which at least one additional element is located between the two elements). Therefore, the terms “coupled to” and “coupled with” are used synonymously.
  • Contemplated configurations and methods are particularly advantageous in processing a relatively rich gas stream (e.g., at least 3% C3, and at least 2.5% C4+), in which the feed gas is cooled to allow removal of at least some of C4+ liquid from the feed gas to so maintain a relatively lean gas to the downstream unit.
  • Preferred plants further include a turboexpander that receives at least part of the C4+ depleted vapor phase, and a fractionator receiving a C4+ liquid from a phase separator. It is still further preferred that the fractionator receives the C2 ⁇ vapor (methane- and ethane-rich vapor) from the lower section of the fractionator as a reflux.
  • reflux used in prior arts is typically a liquid phase while the methane and ethane vapor in the contemplated matters is a two phase stream,
  • the lower section of the fractionator operates at a higher pressure (e.g., at least 5 psi, more typically at least 20 psi) than the upper section.
  • FIG. 5 One exemplary plant configuration is depicted in FIG. 5 , in which wet feed gas 1 at a pressure of about 1170 psig and a temperature of about 96° F., having a typical composition as shown in the table of FIG. 6 , is dried in a molecular sieve drier 51 , forming stream 2 .
  • the so dried gas stream 2 is cooled to a temperature of about 12° F. in exchanger 52 , forming stream 3 , utilizing the refrigeration content from residue gas stream 16 and liquid stream 6 .
  • the so chilled gas stream 3 is then separated in phase separator 53 into a liquid portion, stream 5 , and a vapor portion, stream 4 .
  • the liquid portion 5 is letdown in pressure via JT valve 54 to a pressure of about 510 psig, chilled to about ⁇ 16° F. forming stream 6 , which is heated in exchanger 52 to about 82° F. prior to entering as stream 7 to the lower section 71 (e.g., within the first five feed trays) of fractionator 70 .
  • the vapor portion 4 is expanded via the turboexpander 55 to about 500 psig at about ⁇ 57° F. to form stream 8 , which is fed to the upper section 72 (e.g., within the first three feed trays) of the fractionator 70 .
  • the term “about” in conjunction with a numeral refers to a range of that numeral starting from 20% below the absolute of the numeral to 20% above the absolute of the numeral, inclusive.
  • the term “about ⁇ 150° F.” refers to a range of ⁇ 120° F. to ⁇ 180° F.
  • the term “about 1500 psig” refers to a range of 1200 psig to 1800 psig.
  • all ranges set forth herein should be interpreted as being inclusive of their endpoints, and open-ended ranges should be interpreted to include commercially practical values.
  • all lists of values should be considered as inclusive of intermediate values unless the context indicates the contrary.
  • the operating pressure of the fractionator 70 is in the range of about 450 to about 550 psig, and the upper section temperature is in the range of about ⁇ 65° F. to about ⁇ 55° F., and the lower section in the range of about 25° F. to about 300° F.
  • the overhead gas stream 14 is the residue gas with a methane content of about 85 mol %.
  • the fractionator 70 operates at two different pressures for the two sections, with the lower section 71 operating at at least 5 psig, more typically 10 psig, even more typically 20 psig, and most typically at least 30 psig higher than the upper section 72 .
  • a booster pump 61 pumps liquid stream 10 , typically from a tray below the expander inlet stream 8 , to form stream 11 that is fed to the lower section 71 of the fractionator.
  • the lower section 71 acts as a stripper using reboiler 62 that maintains the ethane content in the bottom liquid stream 12 to no more than 2 mole %, that is required to meet the vapor pressure specification of the LPG product.
  • the lower section 71 produces a vapor side stream 9 that contains about 5 to 6 mol % of the propane and heavier components.
  • the side stream is cooled in exchanger 63 to a temperature of about ⁇ 50° F. forming stream 9 using refrigeration content in the fractionator overhead stream 14 (from the upper section).
  • the majority of the propane is so condensed, and the two phase mixture is letdown in pressure to about 480 psig via JT valve 60 and fed to the upper section 72 of the fractionator 70 as a top reflux, which is in a two phase regime.
  • This reflux configuration is different than heretofore known configurations and methods which require the reflux to be in a single liquid phase.
  • the two phase reflux configuration avoids the complexity of additional reflux drum and reflux pump, and is a more efficient approach since external refrigeration is not required.
  • the residual refrigeration content in residue gas 16 is recovered in exchanger 52 by cooling the feed gas.
  • the warmed residue gas stream 17 at about 88° F. is compressed to a pressure of about 670 psig by compressor 56 driven by the turbo expander 55 , forming stream 18 .
  • Stream 18 is further compressed to about 1200 psig by the residue gas compressor 57 , forming stream 19 which is cooled by air cooler 58 prior to being delivered to the sales gas pipeline as stream 20 .
  • suitable feed gases will include C1, C2 and C3+, and may further comprise N2 and CO2. Consequently, it should be appreciated that the nature of the feed gas may vary considerably, and all feed gases in plants are considered suitable feed gases so long as they comprise C1 and C3 components, and more typically C1 to C5 and heavier components, and most typically C1 to C6 and heavier components. Therefore, particularly preferred feed gases include natural gas, refinery gas, and synthetic gas streams obtained from other hydrocarbon materials such as coal, crude oil, naphtha, oil shale, tar sands, and lignite.
  • Suitable gases may also contain relatively lesser amounts of heavier hydrocarbons such as propane, butanes, pentanes and the like, as well as hydrogen, nitrogen, carbon dioxide and other gases.
  • the pressure of the feed gas may vary. However, it is generally preferred that the feed gas has a pressure between about 700 psig to about 1400 psig, and more typically between about 1000 psig to about 1400 psig.
  • contemplated configurations and methods use a single fractionator to recover at least 98% of the C4 and heavier hydrocarbons, and 60% to 80% of the C3 component, without the use of external refrigeration. Therefore, it should be noted that feed gas cooling and/or cooling of the vapor product of the lower section are performed without use of external refrigeration. It should also be recognized that while a single column configuration is generally preferred, two separate columns with functions corresponding to the upper and lower sections are also deemed suitable for use herein. It is further contemplated that the dryer, separator, fractionator, heat exchanger, JT-valves, residue gas compressor, and turboexpander used in present configurations and methods are conventional devices well known to the skilled artisan.
  • the separator produces a C5+ enriched liquid and a C5+ depleted vapor from a feed gas.
  • C5 enriched liquids may advantageously be fractionated in the lower section of the fractionator to meet the vapor pressure specification.
  • the liquid is drawn from the upper section and is pressurized by a pump that allows the lower section to operate at a higher pressure than the upper section, and thus allows to provide cooling via a JT valve that produces a reflux to the column, while vapor regenerated from the lower section is cooled by the residue gas, providing a two phase reflux stream to the upper section, without the need to fully condense the reflux stream.
  • contemplated processes maintain constant operating conditions for the NGL recovery plant by removal of the C5+ components in the feed gas.
  • contemplated configurations will achieve at least 60%, and more typically 78% propane recovery, and at least 95%, and more typically 98% butane recovery (see FIG. 6 ).
  • Further contemplations, configurations, and methods suitable for use herein are described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,601,406, 6,837,7070, 7,051,552, 7,051,552 and 7,377,127, all of which are incorporated by reference herein.

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  • Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
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  • Oil, Petroleum & Natural Gas (AREA)
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US13/559,335 2012-07-26 2012-07-26 Configurations and methods for deep feed gas hydrocarbon dewpointing Abandoned US20140026615A1 (en)

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PCT/US2012/048373 WO2014018045A1 (fr) 2012-07-26 2012-07-26 Configurations et procédés pour détecter le point de rosée d'hydrocarbures gazeux en alimentation profonde
US13/559,335 US20140026615A1 (en) 2012-07-26 2012-07-26 Configurations and methods for deep feed gas hydrocarbon dewpointing

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Cited By (6)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
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WO2017119913A1 (fr) * 2016-01-05 2017-07-13 Fluor Technologies Corporation Opération de récupération d'éthane ou de rejet d'éthane
US20170336137A1 (en) * 2016-05-18 2017-11-23 Fluor Technologies Corporation Systems and methods for lng production with propane and ethane recovery
US10451344B2 (en) 2010-12-23 2019-10-22 Fluor Technologies Corporation Ethane recovery and ethane rejection methods and configurations
US11112175B2 (en) 2017-10-20 2021-09-07 Fluor Technologies Corporation Phase implementation of natural gas liquid recovery plants
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