Abstract:
A process for liquefying natural gas in conjunction with processing natural gas to recover natural gas liquids (NGL) is disclosed. In the process, the natural gas stream to be liquefied is taken from one of the streams in the NGL recovery plant and cooled under pressure to condense it. A distillation stream is withdrawn from the NGL recovery plant to provide some of the cooling required to condense the natural gas stream. A portion of the condensed stream is expanded to an intermediate pressure and then used to provide some of the cooling required to condense the natural gas stream, and thereafter routed to the NGL recovery plant so that any heavier hydrocarbons it contains can be recovered in the NGL product. The remaining portion of the condensed stream is expanded to low pressure to form the liquefied natural gas stream.
Abstract:
Both a method and apparatus for producing liquified natural gas (LNG) at a well head or other source where cool high pressure natural gas is provided. The natural gas flow from the source is cleaned, if required, and is split into two portions. The first flow portion goes to a primary heat exchanger, then to a second heat exchanger or super cooler, and is thereafter throttled into a LNG tank wherein a part thereof flashes to liquid natural gas and a part thereof becomes a very cold saturated vapor to be vented from the LNG tank. This vent remainder of the first flow portion enters the super cooler as a coolant therefor. The second flow portion enters an expander where work is extracted and the temperature and pressure of the second flow portion are lowered. The cold lower pressure second portion combines with the partially warmed vent remainder of the first portion from the super cooler and passes into the primary heat exchanger as the initial coolant for the first portion. The combined warmed second portion and first portion vent remainder then pass out of the system into a low pressure receiver such as a pipeline. The combined portions are at a pressure equal to or greater than that in the receiver. In a second embodiment the supercooler is eliminated, somewhat reducing the liquid natural gas produced.
Abstract:
A station for dispensing a gas, in particular nitrogen, under a dispensing pressure, includes a line (10) for gas inlet under an inlet high pressure, a line (14) for dispensing the gas under a lower dispensing pressure, and a device (16) for reducing the pressure of the gas to be dispensed from the inlet pressure to the dispensing pressure. The pressure-reducing device (16) includes a machine for pressure reduction with external work production. The station includes upstream of the pressure-reducing device (16), a conduit (18) for dividing the inlet gas into a fraction to be dispensed and a complementary fraction, downstream of the conduit (18), a device (20) for liquefaction of the complementary fraction of the inlet gas that includes a heat exchanger (26) for exchanging heat with the reduced-pressure fraction of the inlet gas, and a reservoir (40) for collecting the liquefied complementary fraction.
Abstract:
A method and an apparatus for producing liquid natural gas (LNG) from a well head or other source of cool, high pressure natural gas. The natural gas from the source is purified and split into first and second flow portions. The first flow portion is split into two parts passing through first and second heat exchangers. The two parts are thereafter recombined and throttled into a LNG tank wherein part thereof flashes to liquid natural gas and a part thereof constitutes a very cold saturated vapor to be vented from the LNG tank. The vent remainder of the first flow portion is used as a coolant for the second heat exchanger and is then conveyed to a low pressure receiver such as a collection pipeline, the vent remainder having a pressure equal to or greater than the receiver. The second flow portion enters an expander wherein its pressure is lowered below that of the receiver and its temperature is lowered accordingly. The second flow portion is used as a coolant for the first heat exchanger and thereafter enters a compressor run by expander work wherein its pressure is raised to a level equal to or greater than that of the receiver. The second flow portion passes to the receiver. Under some conditions of pressure at the source and efficiency levels of the equipment used, the second heat exchanger can be eliminated and all of the first flow portion flashes to liquid natural gas, as is shown in the second embodiment of the present invention.
Abstract:
1,180,496. Natural gas liquefaction process. CHICAGO BRIDGE & IRON CO. 20 Feb., 1968 [27 July, 1967], No. 8221/68. Heading F4P. Liquefaction of compressed natural gas containing carbon dioxide, methane and higher hydrocarbons is effected by dividing the feed gas into first and second streams 12, 30 cooling the first stream by work-expansion in a turbine 18 without solidification of carbon dioxide, absorbing carbon dioxide at 31 from the second stream 30, cooling the latter to effect partial liquefaction in heat exchangers 24, 23, 22 in countercurrent to said expanded first stream, separating at 62 an impure liquid fraction containing heavy hydrocarbons from said cooled second stream, expanding this separated liquid at a valve 64 and using the cold so produced in a terminal exchanger 67 to liquefy vapour withdrawn from the separator 62 through a line 70. Most of the liquid methane is expanded at a valve 72 into a storage tank 74 at about atmospheric pressure whilst a minor portion of liquid methane is expanded at a valve 77 and joins the cold vapour leaving valve 64. A phase separator 44 is interposed in the second stream between exchangers 24, 23 and separated higher hydrocarbons are expanded at a valve 48 whilst a portion of the uncondensed vapour is withdrawn through a line 45, expanded in a turbine 37 and the two portions combined in a line 50 with the aforementioned expanded portions from separator 62. Effluent from tank 74 is compressed at 79, added to the first feed stream leaving turbine 18 and is then warmed in exchangers 22, 23, 24, 13 and fed into a consumer line 26.
Abstract:
1,011,453. Gas liquefaction process. CONCH INTERNATIONAL METHANE Ltd. July 10, 1964 [Jan. 23, 1964], No. 3017/64. Heading F4P. A process for the production of natural gas at a pressure below well head pressure and for the production of liquefied gas at a still lower pressure comprises isentropically expanding at a turbine 44 a first portion 8 of well head gas, passing the so cooled gas in indirect heat exchange at 17 with a second portion 9 of well head gas and feeding it into a distribution line 18, further cooling the said second portion of well head gas at 23, isentropically expanding it at a turbine 25, further cooling the cold expanded gas at 27 and isenthalpically expanding it at a valve 29 to produce flash gas and liquefied gas in a vessel 30 from which product liquefied gas is withdrawn by a pump 31 for storage in a vessel 33 whilst flash gas is withdrawn from vessel 30, used to cool exchangers 23, 27 after which it is compressed at 37 and passed to the distribution line 18. The first portion of well head gas is freed of methane hydrate in a separator 11 and the second portion is dried by passage through alternating molecular sieves 19, 19a which are regenerated by bleeding substantially pure methane from the compressor 37, heating at 40 and delivering it through a line 42 for use as fuel gas. The carbon dioxide content of the well head gas collects as a slurry in flash vessel 30 and is removed from the liquefied product by a centrifugal separator 32. In a modification, gas leaving turbine 25 is freed of nitrogen by absorption.
Abstract:
A method is described for removing carbon dioxide during Liquid Natural Gas production from natural gas at gas pressure letdown stations. The above method removes carbon dioxide from a Liquid Natural Gas production stream by using hydrocarbon fractions taken from a gas for consumption stream as a carbon dioxide stripping adsorption agent for a stripping column used to remove carbon dioxide.