Distillation column minimum flow arrangement
AssigneeSaudi Arabian Oil Company
InventorsSoelistiono Koesoemo Prasetiyo, Ibrahim Saeed Alghamdi, Moath Khalid Almansour
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A distillation system operating below minimum flow. The distillation column is configured for separating a mixed feed into one or more fractional mixtures, producing an overhead product and a bottom product. A bottom return line is provided for returning at least a portion of the bottom product to supplement the mixed feed to the distillation column. A control valve is configured for controlling a flow rate in the bottom return line. A feed surge drum is configured for receiving a feed from the bottom return line and fresh feed, producing the mixed feed.
Claims9
A distillation system comprising:
- a distillation column configured for separating a mixed feed into one or more fractional mixtures, producing an overhead product comprising methane, ethane, carbon dioxide, hydrogen sulfide, or combinations thereof and a bottom product;
- a bottom return line configured for returning at least a portion of the bottom product to supplement a fresh feed;
- a control valve configured for controlling a flow rate in the bottom return line;
- a feed surge drum configured for receiving the fresh feed and the bottom product from the bottom return line, producing the mixed feed;
- a vent line connected to the feed surge drum for venting one or more components comprising methane, ethane, carbon dioxide, or hydrogen sulfide from the feed surge drum;
- and
- an overhead vapor line connected to the vent line for collecting and combining the overhead product comprising methane, ethane, carbon dioxide, hydrogen sulfide, or combinations thereof directly produced from a top of the distillation column and the one or more components in the vent line directly from the feed surge drum.
A distillation system configured as an NGL stripper, comprising:
- a distillation column configured for separating a mixed feed of NGL into one or more fractional mixtures, producing an overhead product comprising methane, ethane, carbon dioxide, hydrogen sulfide, or combinations thereof and an NGL bottom product;
- a bottom return line configured for returning at least a portion of the NGL bottom product to a feed surge drum;
- a control valve configured for controlling a flow rate in the bottom return line;
- wherein the feed surge drum is configured for receiving a fresh feed and a portion of the bottom product from the bottom return line, producing the mixed feed of NGL;
- a vent line connected to the feed surge drum for venting one or more components comprising methane, ethane, carbon dioxide, or hydrogen sulfide from the feed surge drum;
- and
- an overhead vapor line connected to the vent line for collecting and combining the overhead product comprising methane, ethane, carbon dioxide, hydrogen sulfide, or combinations thereof directly produced from a top of the distillation column and the one or more components directly from the feed surge drum.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.