Apparatus and method for recovering off-gases from natural gas dehydrator
OwnerD. Jeffrey Hill, J. Scott Hillinventors
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Abstract
An apparatus and method for reclaiming uncondensed hydrocarbons normally exhausted to the atmosphere from a still column of a glycol dehydrator system, and combusting the uncondensed hydrocarbons in a burner assembly of a reboiler after the burner assembly has been ignited by fuel gas.
Claims4
A method for recovering water and hydrocarbon gases evaporated from glycol in a still column mounted on a reboiler having a burner assembly with a fire-tube and an air/gas mixer at one end of the fire tube, the air/gas mixer having a fuel inlet, a vapor inlet and an air inlet, the method comprising:
- passing water vapor and hydrocarbon vapors from the still column to a vapor condenser to condense the vapors to liquid;
- passing uncondensed vapors from the vapor condenser to a condensate separator;
- passing effluent from the vapor condenser and the separator to a self-emptying container;
- and
- passing non-condensable vapors from the condensate separator into the air/gas mixer of the burner assembly via the vapor inlet only after the burner assembly has been ignited by fuel gas passed through the fuel inlet and mixed with air from the air inlet.
An apparatus for recovering water and hydrocarbon gases evaporated from glycol in a still column mounted on a re-boiler having a burner assembly with a fire-tube and an air/gas mixer at one end of the fire tube, the air/gas mixer having a fuel inlet, a vapor inlet and an air inlet, the apparatus comprising:
- a water and hydrocarbon gas vapor condenser connectable downstream from the still column including separate outlets for water and condensed hydrocarbons and uncondensed hydrocarbons;
- an uncondensed hydrocarbons separator downstream from the vapor condenser and having separate outlets for water and condensed hydrocarbons and uncondensed hydrocarbons;
- a self-emptying container downstream from the water and condensed hydrocarbons outlet of the vapor condenser and said separator;
- a hydrocarbon vapor conduit extending from the separator for conveying non-condensed hydrocarbons to the burner assembly;
- and
- a three-way control valve interposed in the hydrocarbon vapor conduit for directing the flow of non-condensed vapors from the condensate separator into the air/gas mixer of the burner assembly when the burner assembly is ignited;
- and
- a control assembly for controlling the three way control valve in a way that non-condensed vapors are directed to the burner assembly only after the burner assembly has been ignited by fuel gas passed through the fuel inlet and mixed with air from the air inlet.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.