Back to results
US 5,651,269 AGranted
Method and apparatus for liquefaction of a natural gas
AssigneeInstitut Francais du Petrole
InventorsIsabelle Prevost, Alexandre Rojey
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
The method of the invention for liquefying a natural gas consists in liquefying at least a part of this gas by expanding it with mechanical energy, whereby during this expansion the gas changes from a dense phase to a liquid phase without undergoing a phase transition.
Claims24
A method for the liquefaction of a natural gas, said method comprising at least the following two steps:
- a) cooling the natural gas at a pressure at least greater than or equal to the critical pressure of methane and to a temperature that is such that the natural gas will be in the form of a dense phase at the end of the cooling, and
- b) expanding and liquefying at least a part of the dense phase from step a) by means of a device which reduces the pressure of the gas by expansion with mechanical energy;
- changeover from the state of the dense phase to a state of a liquid phase to form a liquefied natural gas occurring without any phase transition.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.