Back to results
US 2016/0097586 A1Published application
Method for ethane liquefaction with demethanization
AssigneeL'Air Liquide, Societe Anonyme pour l'Etude et l'Exploitation des Procedes Georges Claude
InventorsMichael A. TURNEY, Yasser JEBBARI
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
The process for liquefying a gaseous stream received from a pipeline that is comprised predominantly of ethane and a relatively small amount of other components by using a mixed refrigerant loop incorporating heavy hydrocarbons, as well as a distillation column to remove constituents lighter than ethane.
Claims19
A method for ethane liquefaction with demethanization, the method comprising the steps of:
- providing an ethane feed under pressure, wherein the ethane feed is comprised primarily of ethane, wherein the ethane further comprises methane;
- cooling the ethane feed to a first temperature to form a pre-cooled ethane feed, wherein the first temperature is sufficiently warm to prevent ice formation;
- removing water from the pre-cooled ethane feed to form a dry ethane feed;
- cooling the dry ethane feed in a heat exchanger to form a partially cooled ethane stream;
- introducing the partially cooled ethane stream into an intermediate location of a distillation column under conditions effective to cause an ethane rich liquid to accumulate near the bottom portion of the distillation column and a methane rich gas to accumulate near the top portion of the distillation column;
- withdrawing an ethane stream from the bottom portion of the distillation column;
- and
- cooling the ethane stream from the bottom portion of the distillation column to produce liquid ethane product by exchanging heat with a mixed refrigerant refrigeration cycle within the heat exchanger.
5 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.