Configurations and methods of integrated NGL recovery and LNG liquefaction
AssigneeFluor Technologies Corporation
InventorsJohn Mak, Curt Graham
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
Contemplated plants include a NGL recovery portion and a LNG liquefaction portion, wherein the NGL recovery portion provides a low-temperature and high-pressure overhead product directly to the LNG liquefaction portion. Feed gas cooling and condensation are most preferably performed using refrigeration cycles that employ refrigerants other than the demethanizer/absorber overhead product. Thus, cold demethanizer/absorber overhead product is compressed with the turbo-expansion and delivered to a liquefaction portion at significantly lower temperature and higher pressure without net compression energy expenditure.
Claims20
A gas processing plant, comprising:
- a separator that is configured to receive a partially expanded vapor portion of a natural gas feed stream, and that is further configured to produce a cold overhead product stream;
- an expander operationally coupled to drive a compressor, wherein the expander is configured to produce the partially expanded vapor portion and wherein the compressor is configured to produce a compressed cold overhead product stream from the cold overhead product stream;
- and
- wherein the separator and the compressor are fluidly coupled to each other such that the compressed cold overhead product stream has a pressure of at least 700 psig at a temperature of no warmer than −50° F.
A method of producing a liquefied natural gas, comprising:
- producing a cold overhead product stream in a separator and compressing the product stream in a compressor without prior substantial heating of the cold product stream;
- wherein the compressor is driven by an expander that expands a vapor portion of a natural gas feed, and wherein the expanded vapor portion is fed into the separator;
- and
- liquefying the cold compressed product stream in a liquefaction unit.
A method of producing LNG comprising:
- separating in a separator a cold overhead product from a natural gas containing feed gas;
- compressing the cold overhead product using expansion energy from the feed gas to form a cold compressed overhead product at a pressure and temperature suitable for liquefaction in a liquefaction unit;
- wherein the cold compressed overhead product is formed at neutral or negative net compression energy requirement.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.