# US 10,480,352 B2 · Organic Rankine cycle based conversion of gas processing plant waste heat into power and cooling

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- Number: US 10,480,352 B2
- Document ID: US10480352B2
- Status: Granted
- Kind: B2
- Application number: 16/118,952
- Filed: 2018-08-31
- Published: 2019-01-17
- Granted: 2019-11-19
- Earliest claimed: 2015-08-24
- Assignees: Saudi Arabian Oil Company
- Applicants: Saudi Arabian Oil Company
- Inventors: Mahmoud Bahy Mahmoud Noureldin; Akram Hamed Mohamed Kamel
- Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US10480352B2

## CPC

- F01K 21/005: {using mixtures of liquid and steam or evaporation of a liquid by expansion}
- F01K 7/025: {Consecutive expansion in a turbine or a positive displacement engine}
- F01K 7/16: the engines being only of turbine type (the engines using steam of critical or overcritical pressure F01K7/32; the engines being of extraction or non-condensing type F01K7/34)
- F01K 13/00: General layout or general methods of operation of complete plants
- F01K 13/006: {Auxiliaries or details not otherwise provided for}
- F01K 23/04: condensation heat from one cycle heating the fluid in another cycle
- F01K 23/08: with working fluid of one cycle heating the fluid in another cycle
- F01K 25/065: {with an absorption fluid remaining at least partly in the liquid state, e.g. water for ammonia (F01K5/00 takes precedence)}
- F01K 25/08: using special vapours
- F01K 25/10: the vapours being cold, e.g. ammonia, carbon dioxide, ether
- F25B 1/06: with compressor of jet type, e.g. using liquid under pressure ({F25B1/005,} F25B1/10 take precedence)
- F25B 5/02: arranged in parallel
- F25B 9/002: {characterised by the refrigerant}
- F25B 11/02: as expanders (F25B9/06 takes precedence)
- F25B 39/00: Evaporators; Condensers
- F25B 43/00: Arrangements for separating or purifying gases or liquids (in analysers or rectifiers F25B33/00); Arrangements for vaporising the residuum of liquid refrigerant, e.g. by heat (F25B40/00 takes precedence)
- F25J 3/0209: {Natural gas or substitute natural gas}
- F25J 3/0233: {separation of CnHm with 1 carbon atom or more}
- F25J 3/0238: {separation of CnHm with 2 carbon atoms or more}
- F25J 3/061: {Natural gas or substitute natural gas}
- F28D 15/00: Heat-exchange apparatus with the intermediate heat-transfer medium in closed tubes passing into or through the conduit walls {; Heat-exchange apparatus employing intermediate heat-transfer medium or bodies (F28D17/00, F28D19/00, F28D20/00 take precedence)}
- F28D 21/0001: {Recuperative heat exchangers}
- F28D 21/0014: {the heat being recuperated from waste air or from vapors (for air conditioning F24F12/001)}
- F25B 2339/047: Water-cooled condensers
- F25B 2400/23: Separators
- F25J 2200/02: in a single pressure main column system
- F25J 2200/70: Refluxing the column with a condensed part of the feed stream, i.e. fractionator top is stripped or self-rectified
- F25J 2205/04: in the feed line, i.e. upstream of the fractionation step
- F25J 2205/60: using adsorption on solid adsorbents, e.g. by temperature-swing adsorption [TSA] at the hot or cold end
- F25J 2210/06: Splitting of the feed stream, e.g. for treating or cooling in different ways
- F25J 2220/02: Separating impurities in general from the feed stream
- F25J 2220/68: Separating water or hydrates
- F25J 2240/70: Steam turbine, e.g. used in a Rankine cycle
- F25J 2260/02: Integration in an installation for exchanging heat, e.g. for waste heat recovery
- F25J 2270/12: External refrigeration with liquid vaporising loop
- F25J 2270/60: Closed external refrigeration cycle with single component refrigerant [SCR], e.g. C1-, C2- or C3-hydrocarbons
- F25J 2270/902: Details about the refrigeration cycle used, e.g. composition of refrigerant, arrangement of compressors or cascade, make up sources, use of reflux exchangers etc.
- F28D 2021/0059: {for petrochemical plants}
- F01K: STEAM ENGINE PLANTS; STEAM ACCUMULATORS; ENGINE PLANTS NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR; ENGINES USING SPECIAL WORKING FLUIDS OR CYCLES (gas-turbine or jet-propulsion plants F02; nuclear power plants, engine arrangements therein G21D)
- F25B: REFRIGERATION MACHINES, PLANTS OR SYSTEMS; COMBINED HEATING AND REFRIGERATION SYSTEMS; HEAT PUMP SYSTEMS
- 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 (cryogenic pumps F04B37/08; gas storage vessels, gas holders F17; filing vessels with, or discharging from vessels, compressed, liquefied or solidified gases F17C; refrigeration machines, plants, or systems F25B)}
- F28D: HEAT-EXCHANGE APPARATUS, NOT PROVIDED FOR IN ANOTHER SUBCLASS, IN WHICH THE HEAT-EXCHANGE MEDIA DO NOT COME INTO DIRECT CONTACT (fluid heaters having heat generating means and heat transferring means F24H; furnaces F27; details of heat-exchange apparatus of general)

## Abstract

A system includes a waste heat recovery heat exchanger configured to heat a heating fluid stream by exchange with a heat source in a crude oil associated gas processing plant; and an Organic Rankine cycle energy conversion system. The Organic Rankine cycle energy conversion system includes a heat exchanger configured to heat a first portion of a working fluid by exchange with the heated heating fluid stream; and a cooling subsystem including one or more cooling elements each configured to cool one or more of a process stream from the crude oil associated gas processing plant and a cooling water stream for ambient air cooling by exchange with a second portion of the working fluid. The Organic Rankine cycle energy conversion system includes an ejector configured to receive the second portion of the working fluid from the cooling subsystem and a third portion of the working fluid; a turbine and a generator configured to generate power by expansion of a fourth portion of the working fluid; and a cooling element configured to cool a stream of working fluid including an output stream of working fluid from the ejector and the expanded fourth portion of the working fluid from the turbine and generator.

## Claims

### Claim 1

A method comprising:
heating a heating fluid stream via a waste heat recovery exchanger by exchange with a heat source in a crude oil associated gas processing plant;
generating power and cooling capacity in an Organic Rankine cycle energy conversion system, comprising:
heating a first portion of a working fluid by exchange with the heated heating fluid stream via an energy conversion heat exchanger, the working fluid comprising iso-butane;
cooling one or more of a process stream from the crude oil associated gas processing plant and a cooling water stream for ambient air cooling by exchange with a second portion of the working fluid in a cooling subsystem;
in an ejector, combining the second portion of the working fluid from the cooling subsystem and a third portion of the working fluid, the third portion of the working fluid being a portion of the heated first portion of the working fluid;
adjusting with the ejector a ratio of an amount of working fluid in the third portion of the working fluid and an amount of working fluid in the fourth portion of the working fluid;
generating power by expansion of a fourth portion of the working fluid in a turbine coupled to a generator, the fourth portion of the working fluid being a portion of the heated first portion of the working fluid; and
cooling, in a cooling element, a stream of working fluid including an output stream of working fluid from the ejector and the expanded fourth portion of the working fluid from the turbine coupled to the generator.

### Claim 2 (depends on 1)

The method of claim 1, comprising splitting the stream of working fluid output from the cooling element into the first portion of the working fluid and the second portion of the working fluid.

### Claim 3 (depends on 1)

The method of claim 1, comprising adjusting a ratio of an amount of working fluid in the first portion of the working fluid to an amount of working fluid in the second portion of the working fluid.

### Claim 4 (depends on 3)

The method of claim 3, comprising adjusting one or more of the ratios based on a target cooling capacity.

### Claim 5 (depends on 3)

The method of claim 3, comprising connecting the ejector to the Organic Rankine cycle energy conversion system, the ejector being selected based on one or more of the ratios.

### Claim 6 (depends on 1)

The method of claim 1, wherein cooling one or more of the process stream and the cooling water stream in the cooling subsystem comprises producing between 60 MW and 85 MW of cooling capacity.

### Claim 7 (depends on 1)

The method of claim 1, wherein generating power comprises generating between 40 MW and 60 MW of power.

### Claim 8 (depends on 1)

The method of claim 1, comprising pumping the first portion of the working fluid to a pressure of between 11 Bar and 12 Bar.

### Claim 9 (depends on 1)

The method of claim 1, comprising flowing the heating fluid stream from an accumulation tank, through the waste heat recovery exchanger, through the Organic Rankine cycle energy conversion system, and back to the accumulation tank.

### Claim 10 (depends on 1)

The method of claim 1, comprising cooling both the process stream from the crude oil associated gas processing plant and the cooling water stream for ambient air cooling by exchange with the second portion of the working fluid in the cooling subsystem.